As of early January 2023, Danco Laboratories, the U.S. manufacturer of the abortion pill, announced that the FDA has made changes to its guidelines surrounding the abortion pill. These changes allow pharmacies, from large chains like CVS or Walgreens to small, locally owned businesses, to dispense the pill to anyone with a prescription.

Many women choose the abortion pill (also known as a chemical abortion) because they assume it’s safer and more natural. However, complications occur during chemical abortion four times more frequently than during surgical abortion. According to Dr. Christina Francis, “approximately one in five women will experience a significant complication,” which often must be treated by emergency surgery.

The abortion pill is actually a two-pill regimen made up of different drugs:  Mifepristone, also known as Mifeprex or RU-486, and Misoprostol. When a woman chooses to abort her pre-born baby through a chemical abortion, she first takes Mifeprex. This blocks progesterone, starving the pre-born baby of the nutrients needed to continue developing. One to two days later, she takes Misoprostol, which causes her to deliver her now-dead baby. This part frequently happens in the woman’s own home, so she is responsible for disposing of her pre-born baby’s body, often by flushing it down a toilet.

Unsurprisingly, this causes significant trauma for the woman involved in an abortion. Aside from the moral harm it does to her conscience, seeing her dead child covered in blood and floating in the toilet, often awakens her to the reality of what just happened, causing insurmountable emotional problems she will struggle with for years.

But the emotional trauma resulting from the use of the abortion pill isn’t why it was under guidelines that prevented it from being sold in retail pharmacies. Mifeprex, the first drug in the regimen, is dangerous enough that the FDA gave it REMS status. REMS stands for Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which is described by the FDA as, “a drug safety program that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can require for certain medications with serious safety concerns to help ensure the benefits of the medication outweigh its risks. REMS are designed to reinforce medication use behaviors and actions that support the safe use of that medication… REMS focus on preventing, monitoring and/or managing a specific serious risk by informing, educating and/or reinforcing actions to reduce the frequency and/or severity of the event.”

Mifeprex is often dangerous. A few of the possible side effects include:

• Death (a tragic example is this 19-year-old who died after taking the abortion pill)
• Flu or fever-like symptoms
• Hemorrhage
• The need for surgical completion afterwards (the baby didn’t die, or the remains and/or placenta are retained, resulting in a need for surgery)
• Pain in the chest, lower back, side, arms, jaw, or neck
• Infection and possible sepsis
• Prolonged bleeding, from several hours to as long as 30 days

Under the previous REMS guidelines for Mifeprex, women could only receive the pill in person at approved clinics or hospitals that could provide certain medical and safety procedures. But as of January 3rd, 2023, the guidelines have been amended by the FDA so that retail pharmacies who “become certified in the Mifepristone REMS Program” can dispense this highly dangerous pill to anyone with a prescription.

Women in hopeless situations, who believe the lie that the abortion pill is a safe and effective way to deal with a difficult circumstance, are unwittingly walking into a deadly situation. These women desperately need Jesus. This world desperately needs Jesus. The culture of death is so insatiable in its thirst for blood that it’s willing to bypass any concern for human life, and any idea of the sacredness of human life, solely to make death easier, more accessible, and more desirable.

Read more:

Four Doctors Groups Tell Federal Court to Pull Abortion Pill From Market, It’s Dangerous for Women (LifeNews.com)

There are dozens of great pro-life films and documentaries that have been produced over the past several decades, but there is a new one out that we want to make sure is on your “must watch” list. It is called “The Matter of Life,” and it is a powerful and informative documentary about abortion in the United States. In fact, we think it is so important that we are promoting and/or hosting free showings of this film in various locations throughout the state, with the hope that it will initiate other church and private showings. This will include a time for Q & A after the film ends.

The Matter of Life is a wakeup call and a call-to-action. While we praise God for the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, here in Illinois, pro-life advocacy MUST intensify to meet the abortion industry’s expansion and plans to make the Land of Lincoln an abortion destination point.

This documentary, with the help of experts, personal accounts, and plentiful visual aids, explores the political, spiritual, emotional, and physical aspects of abortion. Watch the trailer HERE, then plan to join us at one of the locations listed below. Watch this EWTN 5 minute interview with the producer and director of this film:

“This powerful documentary is edifying and enlightening to understand the Truth of abortion.
Whether you are pro-life or not, please take time to watch this film,
which is recommended for ages 14 years and up.”
~Ricki Giersch, 40 Days for Life Leader in Aurora

“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.

I have always loved children. I was not much beyond childhood myself when I decided there was nothing more endearing than a baby. Their innocence and utter vulnerability make it impossible for anyone with a heart not to be drawn to them, to love them, and want to protect them. I am confident in declaring that there is not a greater human evil than that of destroying the life of a child! Jesus Christ agreed when He said that it would be better that a person have a millstone hung around their neck and they be cast into the sea than to cause offense (injury) to a child!

That there is today a significant and powerful coalition of Americans demanding the right to take the life of unborn (and some post-born) children, is nauseatingly offensive to any compassionate person!  It defies logic and must be understood for what it is.  It is not about “choice.”  It is about hating God and His authority, thus hating what He loves, and loving what He hates.

Abortion advocates attempt to make the discussion about “freedom of choice,” or “equality” for women.  But these are distractions and lies.  Reasonable people favor freedom and equality for all, but if these issues were really the heart of the debate, the Left would use other messaging.  A genuine discussion about freedom of choice would certainly include without prejudice or scorn the choice to have children, even many children, and adoption.  But those who call themselves pro-choice disallow all choices but that of killing the baby.  And a real discussion regarding equality would have to include a study of what true equality looks like.  To treat everyone, male and female, young and old, identically is not equality! For some it would be torture!

So, as the Nation wrestles over abortion in the aftermath of Roe vs Wade being overturned, what is really being debated?  Is it about whether its right to demand that a woman, who is inadvertently pregnant, must carry that baby to term, or whether a woman, in order to be “equal” with a man, must be able to abort her child at any time for any reason?  Or is there something much deeper than these things?

The frightening reality is that the conflict is much larger than these issues. We are arguing over whether we are a nation that loves righteousness and goodness, or lawlessness and evil, God or no God. According to the Bible it is the fool, not the scientist who “says in his heart, ‘there is no God!’” No genuine scientist would make such a claim, for at best, he cannot prove it either way, and at worst he would be arguing against a fundamental of science, which requires a cause for every effect. God is the cause of and the “connector” that created and holds the universe together. There is no other reasonable explanation for our universe.

Thus, the issue is not really over abortion and equality, but whether God and order rule, or godlessness and chaos. This dichotomy becomes more evident when you compare the statements and positions of both sides: Right and Left are not precise labels, but for lack of simpler, more precise, designations, we will use them.

1. Those on the Right support life from conception to natural death. We wholeheartedly agree with God that children are a blessing from God, (Ps. 127:3-5) and are in no way a burden to be avoided.  The Left sees children as a burden or even a curse to be rejected and advocates for death for the unborn, unwanted post-born, sick or depressed (euthanasia).  Consider the multitude of excuses Leftists create to reject childbearing: overpopulation, the environment, “choice,” or “they are an overwhelming burden.” Underlying the Left’s willingness to abort babies is the atheistic philosophy that we are mere animals and thus have no inherent value or right to life.  Not surprising as God states in Proverbs 8:36 that, “All those who hate Me love death.”

2. The Right Advocates for what is best for children: life itself, intact traditional families, high quality education emphasizing righteousness and appropriate life skills, such as the 3-Rs, character and integrity.  The Left advocates for adults’ pleasures trumping children’s health and well-being.  It is impossible to justify libraries hosting “drag queen story hours” for children other than to groom those children to be used by adults. Giving little children explicit sexual information only serves perverted adults.

3. The Right demands truth while the Left has claimed for decades that there is no such thing as truth. The Left exposes the fact that they know truth exists each time they accuse conservatives of lying and demand we believe their words. A lie, by definition, is a contradiction to truth, thus lies can only exist if there is truth to misrepresent!

4. The Right advocates for keeping sexuality attached to traditional marriage and childbearing, as sex promoted for its own sake cheapens it and, like a drug, it becomes destructive. The Left, by promoting sex as an end in itself, has created a scenario where children are considered a burden and a nuisance. Not surprising that millions of children today suffer from numerous mental health disorders, including a sense of having little or no value! Duh! Didn’t see that coming!

5. The Right calls for a willing self-sacrifice of one’s own desires and pleasure for the good of others, especially children and those who are unable to advocate and provide for themselves. The Left demands that their choices and pleasure preempt others’, especially children. (Ironically it is the Leftists, in promoting socialism, who assume, contrary to their own demands, that self-sacrifice is normal to humanity, yet hypocritically refuse to practice it when it comes to their own sexuality!)

6. The Right desires humane treatment for animals but understands that animals do not have rights as people do. Animal rights advocates are generally on the Left, with many demanding an end to the human use of animals altogether. Yet, it is the Left that has no compunction about killing babies and even celebrates the right to do so!

7. The Right understands that trials and difficulties are allowed by God to mature us, to build greater character, and drive us closer to Him, with rest from such troubles coming in eternity . The Left sees troubles as something to be avoided in their quest for the “good life” here and now.  Children are thus seen as obstacles to happiness, not part of it.

8. The Right uses truth and argument to promote its principles. (The few among us who have chosen the Left’s violent methods have been strongly rebuked by leaders of the Right).  However, the Left has no qualms with using violence and the perversion of governmental authority to harass and intimidate those with whom they disagree.  Jesus told His disciples to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves,” (Matthew 10:16).

This year as we mourn the loss of over sixty million unborn children in the fifty years since Roe-V-Wade was decided, let us remember that the battle for life is merely one skirmish on a multi-front war. The real war is between the forces of righteousness and the forces of evil. The righteousness we represent is not our own.  We choose to stand with God and the Bible to proclaim His word, His righteousness, and His goodness. The pro-life movement has won a small battle, for the moment, by mere political will; but it is a tenuous and short-lived victory if there is no national revival. America’s sex and death cultists, which is the Left, have not laid down their arms. They stand with the “kings of the earth” who have set themselves “against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ’Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’”  They do not know that this war has raged for thousands of years but the outcome has already been determined. It is only a matter of time before “the Lord shall hold them in derision.  He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure.” One day He will “break them with a rod of iron (and) dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Excerpts from Psalm 2).

As long as Americans continue to elect leaders who are at war with God and truth, this battle to save the unborn and other vulnerable people from the malice of the Left will not end. As long as our political, cultural and educational classes, as well as multitudes of so-called “Christian” leaders, elevate the sexual pleasures of adults over the lives of children, this battle will rage on. So long as the Left views us all as mere animals, not image bearers of God, the battle will continue. If or when, however, Americans repent and submit to the righteousness of God it may possibly then be safe to be a child in America again!

That must be our desire and prayer!  God is a gracious God!

SPEAKOUT

In the latest example of pro-abortion doublespeak, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) stated that a proposed bill requiring hospital care for babies who survive abortion is “dangerous.”

Seriously?! Mandating hospital care could be dangerous for the baby?

And should we be skeptical of Rep. Nadler’s genuine concern for this baby, since he would have fully supported the mother’s attempt to abort this same child?

To quote Nadler directly,

“The problem with this bill is that it endangers some infants by stating that that infant must immediately be brought to the hospital.” He added, “It directs and mandates certain medical care, which may not be appropriate, which maybe [sic] endanger the life of an infant in certain circumstances.”

Rep. Nadler was referring to the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 26) proposed by Rep. Ann Wagner on January 9. As posted on the Congress.gov website, “This bill establishes requirements for the degree of care a health care practitioner must provide in the case of a child born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion.”

So, in the event that the baby, targeted for termination in the womb, somehow survives the abortion procedure, the health care provider who is present must give that baby the exact same care that would be given “to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.”

And, assuming that the abortion took place in an abortion clinic rather than a hospital, that health care practitioner must “ensure the child is immediately admitted to a hospital.”

That is the very least that should be done for this little survivor, and one would think that every adult with a beating heart would agree that this bill should become law.

As for how many babies actually survive abortion attempts, according to the Abortion Survivors website, “17,855 babies have survived abortion since 1973.” (Assuming that this number relies on actual reports, this might be a very low number.)

Yet not only did Rep. Nadler, together with all but two of his Democratic colleagues, vote against this bill, he actually branded it “dangerous.” Yes, said Nadler, it is not that this bill adds any protections to this infant (which Nadler has claimed have long been in place). Rather, it is that the bill “endangers” the baby by mandating that the child be brought to a hospital, since this may not be the best medical option.

Seconding this opinion was U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Chicago) who opined that the bill “could create more harm” for the baby since it “requires immediately taking a struggling baby to a hospital.” That hospital, she explained, “could be hours away and could be detrimental to the life of that baby. This is nothing more than part of the effort to make abortion illegal nationally in this country. I object, and I urge a no vote.”

As for Nadler, he raised the same argument back in 2018 when a similar bill was proposed, claiming that,

“Despite what its supporters would have us believe, this legislation would do nothing to enhance protections, or the quality of health care, if an infant is born after an attempted abortion. What it would do, however, is directly interfere with a doctor’s medical judgement and dictate a medical standard of care that may not be appropriate in all circumstances, which could, in fact, put infants’ lives at greater risk.”

So, Nadler’s big concern as a strong pro-abortion advocate is protecting the well-being of the baby. Really?

He also claimed that,

“It has always been the law that health care providers cannot deliberately harm newborn infants, and that they must exercise reasonable care in their treatment of such infants. . . .

“In opposing this bill, I do not oppose, in any way, proper medical treatment for newborn infants, whatever the circumstances of their birth. But determining the proper treatment is for medical professionals to decide, not politicians in Congress.”

He added,

“When I supported the Born Alive Infant Protection Act in 2002, my reasoning, and the reasoning of my pro-choice colleagues, was simple: killing an infant who was born alive, either by an act of omission or commission, is infanticide. It was, is, and always should be, against the law, and we saw no harm in reaffirming that fact. That law passed Congress with bipartisan support precisely because it was harmless – even if it was also useless since it did not change the pre-existing law in any way. The bill specifically just reiterated existing law in florid language and did nothing to interfere with doctors’ medical judgment or cause needless harm.” 

But it is not that simple. U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) stated in 2021 that,

“Current federal law does not adequately protect a born child who survives an abortion. In the 116th Congress, the legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 248 to 177.”

And, in a private communication, pro-life leader Rev. Patrick Mahoney noted that

“there is something called the abortion survivors network in which many children were born alive from late term abortions and doctors didn’t attempt to save their lives.”

He added that the reason the proposed bill requires that the baby be brought to the hospital is that “doctors would leave the children without any emergency medical care and they would die a ‘natural death.’”

Under the current bill, doctors would be required to provide whatever medical care was necessary to try to save the infant’s life.

As for the real possibility of infanticide being practiced, let’s remember that in 2019 Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam infamously said that in certain cases,

“If a mother is in labor…the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians & mother.”

So, keep that infant comfortable while the family discusses whether to let it live or not.

No wonder the outcry was so great.

Even the left-leaning Snopes.com could only find the claim that Northam said he would “execute a baby after birth” to be “Mostly False.” That is saying a lot.

Not only so, but recent bills would allow for infanticide, such as Maryland’s Pregnant Person’s Freedom Act (House Bill 626/Senate Bill 669), which was defeated. In California, the ACLJ reported that, “On September 27, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed what amounts to a perinatal infanticide bill, AB 2223 (along with 12 other pro-abortion bills).”

So, for a number of reasons, the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is genuinely needed, and it is unconscionable that anyone would vote against it, especially someone claiming to care for the wellbeing of the infant.

Even more ironic, tragically so, is the fact that Reps. Nadler and Schakowsky and their Democratic colleagues have argued passionately for a mother’s right to kill that same baby in the womb, even if it was at a viable age for birth.

It would be better if they simply stated what we all know (and what others have often stated elsewhere). Those who oppose bills like the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act do so because they believe the bill is designed to undercut a woman’s “right” to abortion, and they will protect that “right” at almost all costs.

Their expressed concern for the wellbeing of the baby who survives an abortion is beyond cynical.

It is doublespeak in the extreme, putting pro-abortion phrases like “reproductive rights” to shame.

Let us expose it loudly and clearly.

This article was originally published at AskDrBrown.org.

In the wake of SCOTUS decision to strike down Roe v. Wade and the so-called “right” to abortion, we praise God for the dozens of states in the nation that have moved to ban or greatly restrict this heinous practice. In blue states like Illinois however, those who love death are busy establishing new death chambers, expanding to strategic new locations and inviting people over the state line to destroy innocent human life. Illinois State Lawmakers are going out of their way to support an industry committed to ending the lives of innocent pre-born babies.

As we once again recognize Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (January 22, 2023), Christ followers must respond intentionally, bringing both salt and light to this desperate situation. (Click HERE for a bulletin insert.) Here are some suggested deliberate steps we all can take:

Be intentional in prayer. If we truly believe that the fervent prayer of the righteous “avails much” (James 5:16); and if we truly believe that God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17); and if we truly believe that we are called to “deliver those who stumble toward death” (Proverbs 24:11); and if we truly believe that the second great commandment in God’s law is to love our neighbor—born or unborn (Matthew 22:36-40); we should be offering up earnest prayers regularly throughout the day.

We should pray for mothers who are facing an unplanned pregnancy or who are facing threats, abuse, and coercion to end their pregnancy. We should pray for abortion workers to leave their work that enables the “termination” of pre-born life. And we should pray for our local community, elected officials, leaders, and neighbors who do not understand the gruesome truth that abortion takes a human life.

We highly recommend that Christians intentionally participate in 40 Days for Life prayer vigils. If we truly believe that God’s ears are attentive to our cries and that He answers every prayer that aligns with His perfect will (1 John 5:14, Psalm 34:15 and 5:3), we can wait in eager anticipation for His hand to work when the time is right.

• Pray that human life would be cherished at every stage of life, regardless of circumstances.

• Pray for the end of abortion in all states.

• Pray for the pregnancy resource centers that are helping women facing an unplanned pregnancy.

• Pray for political and church leaders, and that they would be willing to stand up for life.

• Pray that God will open the eyes of policymakers and candidates running for office to the sanctity of life. Pray that they will become defenders of innocent human life and not enablers of sexual immorality and death.

• Pray for a softening of hearts and minds. May God give us opportunities to minister to those who are hurting and may our conversations be filled with His grace and love.

Be intentional to educate yourself. Being pro-life is much more than being anti-abortion. Contraception, sterilization, IVF and, on the other end of the spectrum, the so-called “right” to die movement, all foster and promote a culture of death. Read and/or watch experts on these topics to learn how to defend the pro-life position with reasons.

Also, be cognizant of the ways contemporary negative attitudes toward having and raising children undermine the culture of life. Avoid making critical remarks about children being a burden or interfering with your sleep/work, schedule or budget. Start seeing them through God’s eyes, as a blessing and a reward. (Psalm 127:3-5)

Moreover, Bethany Bomberger’s book, Pro-Life Kids, is an excellent resource that reinforces the importance of every human life and Ryan Anderson’s newest book, Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing, discusses the lasting impact that abortion has had on our country.

Be intentional and proactive in your church. Talk to your pastor and church leaders about supporting a local pregnancy center, recognizing and celebrating Sanctity of Life Sunday, and explaining the importance from a biblical view of voting for candidates committed to supporting pro-life legislation. There are a variety of resources that you can share with your community. You can find these at sanctitysunday.com.

Encourage your church to host meetings throughout the year to highlight the battle for the right-to-life. These can include documentary film screenings, special speakers, right-to-life apologetics, and Bible studies on God’s view of every human life.

Encourage your church to have a ministry that reaches out to post-abortive women who, like all of us, need to know that Jesus paid for all of our sins on the cross and that His love, mercy, and forgiveness are available and sufficient. The local church can be a place for these women to start healing.

Be intentional to be an advocate. Whether with a large audience or just your family, start a conversation about life and its value.  Need help talking about abortion? Check out the pro-life apologetics organization Life Training Institute. They have been equipping Christians to defend their unborn neighbors since 2004.

You can also attend the Annual SpeakOut Illinois pro-life conference. This year’s event will be held in Oakbrook Terrace on February 25th. For more information, click HERE.

Additionally, we encourage you to join us for the annual IFI Worldview Conference on March 18th at the Village Church of Barrington. This year we are featuring three well-respected Pro-Life Christian leaders who will help us better understand, debate and persuade people in our spheres of influence to the sanctity of human life. Learn more HERE.

Promote, help, donate to, and fundraise for your local crisis pregnancy center and/or local pro-life group. Attend a Hike for Life fundraiser or banquet.

Speak out against pro-abortion legislation. Most people have absolutely no idea what bills are being decided in Springfield or Washington, D. C. It is vital to get alerts from IFI and other pro-life groups who will let you know when to speak out on specific pending legislation.

Visit your local lawmakers to thank them for their service and to see how you can pray for them. Let them know how important the life issue is to you and to our culture. Urge them to become a champion for the pre-born.

Make sure you are subscribed to Illinois Family Institute’s emails and Action Alerts to stay involved about bills affecting the unborn! As responsible citizens that love their community, use this information to contact your representatives. Hold them accountable to protect human beings at all stages of life, from conception to natural death.

Be intentional to celebrate life. It is tragic to realize that we are immersed in a culture that does not value life. Many babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome in the womb are aborted. Other potential disabilities and/or genetic conditions are targeted as well. Women use abortion as a means of birth control. Senior citizens who need assisted living or who live in nursing homes are frequently mistreated, ignored, or forgotten.

Celebrating the people you know who have challenging conditions can set an example to others not only how to treat “the least of these” with respect and dignity, but to think about them as equally worthy of life as those of us blessed with good health.

Be intentional to promote and support pro-life candidates. In every election cycle we have opportunities to promote pro-life candidates running for local, state, or federal office. You should pick a candidate or two to support in word, with your time, and, if possible, with your finances. They are the ones voting to pass laws that either expand or limit ending precious pre-born human life.

You should make your pro-life views known to your community during election time.

“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

Additionally, you can support pro-life candidates by putting up yard signs, making phone calls, distributing literature, going door-to-door with the candidate, hosting a meet-and-greet in your home, using social media, attending rallies, and marching in parades.

Go one step further and identify your local pro-life elected officials and write them a letter of encouragement and thanks.

Conclusion

Scripture is clear, God is infuriated with the shedding of innocent blood (Psalm 106:38; Proverbs 6:16-17) and the apathy of so many Christians who remain on the sidelines in the face of evil (Ezekiel 12:2; James 1:22-25). Make no mistake, He sees what is going on in Illinois and in the rest of the world. But God gives us insight into why it appears He may have overlooked this grave evil.

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ~2 Peter 3:9

God wants us to repent, and He is sovereign. He wants to work through us to change everything–even the hearts of those who work inside these clinics. Let’s not forget that God specializes in cases that look surmountable. (Jeremiah 32:37; Luke 1:37; Ephesians 3:20; Luke 18:27)

God wants us to repent, and He is sovereign. He wants to work through us to change everything–even the hearts of those who work inside these clinics. Let’s not forget that God specializes in hard cases. (Jeremiah 32:37; Luke 1:37; Ephesians 3:20; Luke 18:27)

We are to pray for one another too (Ephesians 6:18; James 5:16), because we tend to grow weary and discouraged. Therefore, we should be praying for the strength and resolve of those who are on the frontlines of this battle as we also pray that God would remove all fear and timidity from Christians who have not yet engaged in the battle for truth, righteousness, and the sanctity of human life.

Lawyers for Mark Houck, a pro-life father of seven being prosecuted by the Biden administration, dropped bombshell evidence in defense of the pro-life advocate at a January 17, 2023, pretrial hearing in Philadelphia. Thomas More Society attorneys produced new evidence – never before considered by a federal court – that when the United States Congress passed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, it expressly intended to exclude so-called “escorts” operating outside of abortion facilities from being encompassed by the FACE Act.

The Thomas More Society filing on behalf of Houck in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, quotes U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), chief sponsor of the FACE Act. Kennedy clearly stated that clinic escorts are excluded, because they do not provide reproductive health services in a facility, as required under the FACE Act.

“The FACE Act was never intended to cover disputes between advocates on the public sidewalks outside of our nation’s abortion clinics,” declared Thomas More Society Executive Vice President & Head of Litigation Peter Breen, who is representing Houck. “This new evidence shows clearly that Congress intended to limit the FACE Act to patients and staff working in the clinic, and not to take sides between pro-life and pro-choice counselors and escorts on the sidewalk. The Biden Department of Justice’s prosecution of Mark Houck is pure harassment, meant solely to intimidate our nation’s pro-life sidewalk counselors who provide vital resources to help pregnant women at risk for abortion.”

The Thomas More Society filing highlights a key exchange between Kennedy and U.S. Senator David Durenberger (R-MN), over a bipartisan amendment they negotiated to strip clinic escorts of the right to bring lawsuits under the FACE Act (139 Cong. Rec. S15682):

Mr. DURENBERGER. By defining “aggrieved person” in this way, was it your intention to exclude clinic escorts or so-called clinic defenders? 

Mr. KENNEDY. That is correct. Demonstrators, clinic defenders, escorts, and other persons not involved in obtaining or providing services in the facility may not bring such a cause of action.

Durenberger then reiterated that escorts are not covered under the FACE Act (139 Cong. Rec. S15686):

The bill, as currently drafted before us, allows legal relief only to clinic patients and personnel. And this is the critical, if you will – not the only, but the critical – change that has been agreed to by the proponents of this legislation and by the Senator from Massachusetts. We have recognized that Federal law should be extended narrowly to protect only those who were actually attempting to obtain or provide medical or counseling services. It does not protect the escorts.

Thomas More Society attorneys filed the Objections to Government’s Jury Instructions in response to the Biden Department of Justice’s proposed jury instructions, which claim that, under the FACE Act, “A provider of reproductive health services includes any staff member or volunteer escort who is an integral part of a business where reproductive health services are provided.” The Biden Department of Justice claims that volunteer abortion escort Bruce Love is a “provider of reproductive health services” under the FACE Act.

Thomas More Society attorneys have provided alternate jury instructions, arguing that the clear language of the FACE Act requires that the reproductive health services must be provided “in a…facility,” which excludes escorts – a view reinforced by the clear statements supplied by the Congressional record.

United States of America v. Mark Houck is currently set for a jury trial, January 24 through 27, 2023, before United States District Judge Gerald J. Pappert in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Read the Objections to Government’s Jury Instructions, filed on January 17, 2023, by Thomas More Society attorneys on behalf of Mark Houck, in United States of America v. Mark Houck, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, here.

About the Thomas More Society

The Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, religious liberty, and election integrity. Headquartered in Chicago and with offices across the country, the Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information, visit thomasmoresociety.org.

In June of 2018, the body of a little baby was discovered floating in the ocean near an inlet in South Florida. One sheriff told NBC News that he had thought he had seen it all, but this corpse really tugged at his heart.

And now, more than 4 years later, through DNA technology, authorities have been able to isolate the mother. She’s been arrested and faces first-degree murder charges. So sad.

How could this type of thing take place in “the land of the free”? I believe that it’s not hard to draw the link between abortion and this type of story which is being repeated over and over. After 63 million abortions where it’s supposedly okay to kill the baby inside the womb, why does it suddenly become wrong to kill the baby outside of it?

Look at these tragic headlines in lifenews.com:

• Woman Abandoned Her Newborn Baby Outside in Freezing Cold, Lied to the Police About Baby’s Location

• Woman Stabs Her 3-Month-Old Baby, Puts Him in Plastic Bag, Throws Him in Dumpster

• Couple Used Poison to Kill Their Viable Unborn Baby, Then Dumped the Baby’s Body

One of the key writers who covers these and other abortion-related stories is Micaiah Bilger who pens articles for lifenews.com.

I asked her to comment on these frequent tragedies. She told me, “The shock never weakens when I hear about another case of infanticide. It’s difficult to imagine how any mother could kill her child, born or unborn, but even more so after seeing her newborn child for the first time. How can a mother hold her precious baby and then throw the child in a garbage bag or abandon it in the cold?”

As to the link between abortion and these cases, Bilger adds, “I suppose after so many years of it being ‘normal’ to kill a child before birth, it’s not surprising that children outside the womb are being devalued, too.”

What should be trumpeted throughout our culture is this: There are safe harbor or safe haven laws that exist in one form or another in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia.

Within a short time of delivering a baby, often 30 days, a mother can bring a baby over to a local fire department or police department or hospital and drop the child off—no questions asked, no charges filed.

For example, here is what the Sunshine State says about its safe harbor law on its website: “Florida’s Safe Baby Law allows mothers and/or fathers, or whoever is in possession of an unharmed newborn approximately 7 days old or less, to leave them in the ‘arms’ of an employee at any Hospital or staffed 24/7 Fire Rescue Station, or Emergency Medical Station. No questions asked, totally anonymous, free from fear of prosecution.”

How much more humane to let the baby live and be placed in the arms of those who can bring the child to a safe future.

The U.S. Supreme Court even referred to these laws in their Dobbs v. Jackson decision from last June, overturning  Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion decision of January 22, 1973. Dobbs noted:

“…States have increasingly adopted ‘safe haven’ laws, which generally allow women to drop off babies anonymously; and…a woman who puts her newborn up for adoption today has little reason to fear that the baby will not find a suitable home.”

I also asked Eric J. Scheidler, the executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, based in the Chicago area, for a comment on these laws. He told me, “Many women know nothing about this option, and as a result, newborn babies are abandoned and even murdered. We must do more to publicize this important way to save babies’ lives.”

America’s two founding documents have important bearing on the subject of abortion. The Declaration of Independence acknowledges that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. The first right enumerated is the “right to life.”

The founders didn’t grant this right. They simply acknowledged it and spelled it out in our founding documents. The U.S. Constitution begins,

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” [emphasis added]

Our posterity includes the promise for those yet unborn.

One could only wish that the mother in South Florida who apparently drowned her newborn had instead brought the child to a “safe haven.”  After a half-century of the abortion ethic, we have lost a lot of ground in cherishing the “right to life.” Raising awareness of these nationwide safe haven laws is a step in the right direction.

Just when you think Illinois couldn’t do more for Big Abortion Inc. than it already has, Illinois Democrats passed a Planned Parenthood “wish list” on the last day of the lame duck session. On Tuesday afternoon, January 10th, the Illinois Senate passed HB 4664 by a vote of 41 to 16.

During the floor debate in the Illinois Senate, Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) read Psalm 139:13-16 aloud in the chamber. It fell on deaf ears. Six other Republican lawmakers rose to challenge the bill, and four of them closed their comments with an appropriate appeal: “God help us.” Watch the 48-minute debate on the IFI YouTube channel HERE.

HB 4664 was then sent to the Illinois House where it passed late at night by a vote of 70 to 39. This version of the bill does the following:

• Allows nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and midwives to perform abortions

• Requires insurance companies to cover abortion pills and hormonal “treatment” and surgery for gender dysphoria

• Allows pharmacists to dispense hormonal contraceptives from a standing order from the Department of Public Health without having any relationship with the patient

• Protects the Department of Public Health from liability from issuing a standing order prescription for hormonal contraceptives

• Allows for disposal of human embryos

• Allows any medical personnel (including therapists and counselors) who have lost medical licenses in another state to practice in Illinois

• Allows doctors, nurses, midwives, etc. who have lost medical license/certification in another state to perform abortions in Illinois

• Prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage for “reproductive” care under that person mentioned directly above

• Makes it very difficult if not impossible to request subpoenas related to “lawful health care activity” (i.e., abortion, “transgender” hormonal treatment and surgery)

Proponents of this legislation have admitted that its intent is to keep policyholders from knowing what immoral procedures and “medical” services their premiums are being used for.

This bill now heads to the governor’s office and J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign it quickly.

Take ACTION:  Click HERE to let Gov. Pritzker know that you oppose this effort to expand the abortion industry in Illinois. Remind him to protect the first civil right: the “right to life.” The pro-life community must speak out and let him know that many Illinoisans detest this bill.

You can also call the governor’s Constituent Affairs Help Line Springfield at (217) 782-0244. We must take advantage of every opportunity to make sure that our legislators hear from us on this life-and-death agenda.

Pray that the governor’s heart and mind are convicted of the truth of what abortion is and does to a human being. Pray that voters will hold accountable those lawmakers who voted to once again expand abortion in Illinois. Pray that the evil agenda of abortion cheerleaders would be exposed for all to see.

SpeakOut Illinois will be hosting its annual conference and memorial to the victims of legalized abortion on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace.

“SpeakOut Illinois is a unique coalition,” said Ann Scheidler, chairman of SpeakOut Illinois. “There is no other state in the Union with the kind of cooperative, work-together effort that we have here in Illinois.”

“Perhaps the hostile political environment of the State of Illinois is part of the reason for our collaborative success,” said Scheidler. The twenty-one sponsors include Pro-Life Action League, Lutherans for Life, Orthodox Christians for Life, Illinois Right to Life, several pregnancy resource centers, political advocacy groups, a public interest law firm, post abortion ministries and pro-family organizations.

The theme for this year’s luncheon is “Life! Too Extreme for Illinois?” Among the conference speakers are:

For more information or to sign up, please visit the conference website: speakoutillinois.org.

Come join your fellow Illinois pro-lifers and recommit yourself to the battle for life at SpeakOut Illinois 2023 on Saturday, February 25th.

– IFI is a proud co-sponsor –

What is the end-game of some extremists who believe in the threat of catastrophic, man-made climate change? The end of humanity.

In contrast, the founders of America operated out of a Judeo-Christian framework. The Bible was by-far the most widely read and studied book during America’s founding.

The framers declared that it is self-evident that we have been created equal and have been endowed by our Creator with certain key rights—first listed amongst them is the right-to-life.

But some of today’s climate alarmists want to see a global change to pull the plug on that right—not just for our country, but basically for humankind. And they certainly want to put the kibosh on the Biblical command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with humans.

Why do some climate alarmists essentially wish us all dead? Because they think people are bad for the earth. They don’t believe in God. They claim to believe in science. But what is the evidence that people are supposedly bad for the earth?

The Atlantic recently had an article (January/February 2023 issue), focusing on this idea that some experts today are promoting human extinction, for the sake of the planet. They write:

“From Silicon Valley boardrooms to rural communes to academic philosophy departments, a seemingly inconceivable idea is being seriously discussed: that the end of humanity’s reign on Earth is imminent, and that we should welcome it…. It is a rejection of humanity’s traditional role as Earth’s protagonist, the most important being in creation.” [emphasis added]

They call this view “transhumanism”—that we should get beyond humanity, and we should engage in “drastic forms of self-elimination.” As noted, this contrasts sharply with the Biblical command that humanity should be fruitful and multiply. Argue the transhumanist “experts” quoted in The Atlantic:

“But if being fruitful and multiplying starts to be seen as itself a form of killing, because it deprives future generations and other species of irreplaceable resources, then the flourishing of humanity can no longer be seen as simply good.”

The New York Times features an article on a 75-year old man who promotes a similar message: “Earth Now Has 8 Billion Humans. This Man Wishes There Were None.”

They write: “For the sake of the planet, Les Knight, the founder of the Voluntary Human Extinction movement, has spent decades pushing one message: ‘May we live long and die out.’”

Knight often spreads the message, “Thank you for not breeding.”

They add, “Mr. Knight is among those who believe that overpopulation is a main factor in the climate crisis.” The article notes that “a 2020 poll found that one in four Americans who had not had children cited climate change as a reason.”

Ideas have consequences. What begins as a discussion of hypotheticals in the faculty lounge may eventually become policy somewhere. These are worldviews in conflict.

I remember years ago, one Christian speaker made this observation:

-In the 18^th century, the Bible was killed. (Higher critics beginning in Germany attacked the Scriptures and postulated that they couldn’t be trusted.)

-In the 19^th century, God was killed. (Darwinism supposedly eliminated the need for the “God hypothesis.”)

-In the 20^th century, Man was killed. (Nazi Germany’s Holocaust and the Communists’ murder of some 100 million persons are two prominent examples.) And now some of these climate alarmists are arguing that even more human beings should willingly die out…for the sake of the planet.

I reached out to author Wesley J. Smith, the Chair of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Human Exceptionalism, for a comment on this idea. He told me, “The Human Extinction Movement is a form of nature worship, expressing the belief that the world will be pristine without us. But why will that matter? No one will be around capable of appreciating nature’s wonder.”

I also asked for a reply from Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, the president of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, who is a major critic of the unproven hypothesis of man-made, catastrophic climate change.

Beisner noted, “The proposal is absurdity in the extreme. Even the scenarios for the future in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s scientific reports, exaggerated as they are, don’t depict human-induced global warming as an existential threat or even a great crisis. Such claims come only from the UN’s and various nations’ political leaders, environmental activists, and the mainstream media.”

And he added, “The hope for human extinction is nothing more than anti-human. Christians, who recognize that people are the image of God, will recognize it as attacking God in effigy.”

Beginning with a dubious premise, the alarmists have reached a dubious conclusion. This relatively new push for no more humans reminds me of the verse in the Bible where God’s wisdom says, “All who hate me love death.”

This article was originally posted at JerryNewcombe.com.

Leftist boomers and their ideological spawn together have created the worst generations, shameful heirs of a noble legacy hard-won by our forebears. Leftist boomers, taking their cues from pervert Alfred Kinsey, hedonist man-child Hugh Hefner, and addled Timothy Leary, ushered in the drug and sexual revolutions. Satiating primitive urges, escapist longings, and self-centered desires while eschewing self-denial and God are the driving forces of these generations. They believe their Deep Thoughts, intense feelings, and overactive groins determine morality (which they incoherently claim is subjective while trying to force others to believe leftist morality is objective, inarguable truth). And so we see the child-sacrifice cult growing, particularly here in Illinois, the former breadbasket/current killing fields of the country.

According to Chicago Sun-Times columnist leftist crank Rich Miller, Illinois House Speaker Democrat Chris Welch “strongly indicated recently that a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing reproductive rights was a very likely prospect” (emphasis added).

Miller acknowledged the troubling reality that the manifestly failing state of Illinois is ruled by a de facto single-party system:

Welch will soon have more members of his party than any speaker since the state constitution was revised to reduce the chamber’s membership by a third. He said there were a number of explanations for his caucus’ expansion, but the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was “monumental.”

It’s ironic that leftists who have conniptions about the possibility of Republicans controlling both the U.S. Senate and House and about the somewhat-conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court don’t seem to mind the super-majority of leftists in Springfield who are ruining the state in every measurable way. (Nor did leftists seem exercised about the Warren and Burger Courts, which are both considered liberal Courts.)

But enough about “progressive” inconsistency. Back to the nefarious plans of Illinois’ Springfield miscreants.

Welch told Miller that “the Republican Party, not just here in Illinois but across the country, is wrong on those issues. They’re just wrong.”

“Those issues” seems to be one issue: the legal right of women to choose to kill their gestating children. I’d love to hear more from moral absolutist Welch on his justifications for asserting the wrongness of protecting human life.

State Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) also dismissed the concerns of those who believe incipient human life has value:

I think that voters who would traditionally vote for Republican candidates turned out and said, ‘I’ve had enough of this nonsense. I’m going to vote for a Democrat, or I’m certainly not going to vote for the crazy Republicans’ and skipped a race.”

I’m not sure exactly what Deep Thinker Harmon believes is nonsensical and crazy. Is it “nonsensical” and “crazy” that Republicans believe a new human being comes into existence when sperm and egg unite?

Is it “nonsensical” and “crazy” that Republicans believe more powerful humans ought not have a legal right to order the extermination of weaker humans?

Is it “nonsensical” and “crazy” that Republicans support the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which “progressive” legal scholars have long argued had no basis in the Constitution?

Miller cited the new president of Personal PAC, Illinois’ most powerful pro-genocide lobbying organization, Sarah Garza Resnick, who hopes to “work with legislative Republicans to recruit pro-choice candidates.”

What is the “choice” she wants Republicans to support—the one she avoids identifying? That would be the “choice” of women to have their human offspring dismembered at any stage of development for any or no reason with no restrictions: no limits on gestational age, no parental notification, no mandatory waiting periods, no informed consent (and no limits on scientific experimentation on human embryos).

Garza offers some unsolicited advice to Republicans:

“I think that any smart political strategist would need to read the tea leaves of what is going on and what the voters are sending a very clear message on. And if you want to stay relevant and get the other important issues that you care about discussed, then I think it would make sense to recruit and run pro-choice Republicans. …

If you look at what happened in Kansas, and if you look at what happened where [abortion] was on the ballot in five states … on November 8, the people of this country overwhelmingly want choice to be protected and codified and they don’t want it to be dismantled.”

Well, anyone who’s anyone knows how important it is to “stay relevant.”

This seems a good moment to remind Americans who favor truth and justice over political expedience that sometimes the madding crowd is on the way wrong side of history. We should have learned that lesson from the history of the slave trade all around the world. And at one time, there were countless numbers of Americans who did not want the institution of slavery dismantled. It’s a good thing Garza wasn’t around then to offer unsolicited advice to political leaders.

Sunny Hostin, co-host of The View—a show whose leftist hosts are so intolerant and hostile they drive away all co-hosts with distinctly conservative views—recently compared white suburban women who would vote for Republicans to “roaches voting for Raid.” The steaming pile of ironies keep mounting.

First Hostin, a person of color and member of the diversity-loving, anti-racist crowd, refers to white women as roaches. And then she claims that voting to outlaw the extermination of tiny, weak humans is equivalent to voting for extermination. Hmmm …

Near as I can tell, Hostin is suggesting that outlawing the intentional serial extermination of tiny humans will result in deaths of women, so let’s examine Hostin’s claim to see how sound her analogy is.

In legal abortion, the dead victims are intentionally killed by the choice of their mothers aided and abetted by the law. In illegal abortions, the rarely dead women die accidentally as a result of choices they made.

Thousands of women choose to have their human offspring killed—nearly one million humans annually. Compare that to the statistics for the number of women who accidentally died from illegal abortions a decade before Roe legalized prenatal genocide. According to the liberal Guttmacher Institute, by “1965, the number of deaths due to illegal abortion had fallen to just under 200.”

Who do leftists treat like roaches? Who do they want to exterminate? (As an aside, would leftists support the daily serial killing of actual roaches via dismemberment? I’d say there are two chances of that: slim and fat.)

It’s not surprising that apparatchik for the prenatal genocide industrial complex Sarah Resnick Garza believes “codifying” human slaughter “on the constitutional level would make sense.” Let’s hope and pray that there are enough decent Illinoisans left in Illinois and the General Assembly to keep that from happening.

The 103rd General Assembly begins on Jan. 11, 2023 and runs for two years. IFI will alert our subscribers about any proposal regarding an abortion amendment to the Illinois constitution and urge them to contact their lawmakers to dissuade them from supporting it.

Much of the conversation about the midterm elections has focused on the anticipated “red wave” which failed to materialize in the congressional results. While the layout of the U.S. Congress is is indeed important, as it will significantly influence what the Biden administration accomplishes over the next couple years, it’s important not to overlook local election state election results. Dobbs didn’t settle the abortion debate, it merely pushed it down to the states. And the states are beginning to speak. State election results are more important now than ever for determining the fate of unborn children across the country.

And in several states, fate is exactly what happened. On November 8th, voters in Michigan, California, and Vermont all passed initiatives codifying a right to abortion in their respective state constitutions. In these states, shedding a baby’s blood will not only be legal—it will be a constitutional right.

Yes, you read that correctly. A constitutional right. In America—a land where those two simple words symbolize a priceless safeguard of liberty, one procured through centuries of legal heritage developed by wise minds who devoted their lives to their country and defended by courageous hearts who gave their lives for their country—we now use those two words to euphemize barbarous acts of child sacrifice. I thought constitutions were supposed to protect the rights of the most vulnerable, not consecrate their extermination. But we live in a world where men call evil good, and where slaughter is sacrosanct.

This should remind the pro-life movement of a couple important truths which have been easier to forget in the wake of the Dobbs victory.

First, our position is grounded in God’s truth—it is not grounded in democracy. Refusing to accept the “will of the people” may make us seem like sore losers, or it may make us seem  just flat-out un-American. But we have to remember that the voice of a people can produces a good government only insofar as it is in harmony with the voice of God, the One who created those people and established that government. Dobbs was certainly an improvement in the sense that it allowed individual states to ban abortion if their populations so desired. But in our joy surrounding the triumph of representative government over the tyranny of flimsy constitutional interpretation, it’s easy to forget a simple fact: just as unelected judges aren’t the determiner of truth, neither are elected representatives or the voters themselves.

If it’s wrong to sacrifice God’s word for the sake of one man’s opinion, it’s equally wrong to do so for the sake of a million men’s opinions. If every single voter in the nation approved abortion, abortion would still be just as wrong as it has ever been. Why? Because God says so, and God doesn’t care a whit doesn’t care a whit about what anyone else thinks. So neither should we. The game isn’t over just because the winds of popular opinion aren’t blowing our direction. We’ll never give in.

Secondly, therefore, we have to remember that abortion is not just a legal battle –, it is a cultural battle. As long as it remains “holy ground” in our society, society will expend its utmost to work around any legal obstacles it might face. (Pro-choice forces have seemed to spare no expense in providing residents of pro-life states with abortion options.) While we may have shifted the abortion decision away from the godless constitutional interpretations of Roe down to the court of popular opinion, we still face a gigantic problem: popular opinion can be equally as godless. It is our job now to direct popular opinion toward the will of God.

While all three arms of the pro-life movement (crisis pregnancy services, legislative advocacy, and community education about the truth of abortion) are still necessary, education seems to present itself as especially critical right now. Michigan, California, and Vermont didn’t establish these constitutional amendments because career politicians voted for them. They did so because a majority of their voters voted for them, ignorant, deceived, or otherwise. As the heart of a people is, so are its laws, and ministries that target popular opinion—such as Tiny Heartbeat Ministries in the Pacific Northwest—are hitting the nail on the head.

Dobbs didn’t stop the battle. It merely moved it to the adjacent battlefield. Pro-abortion forces quickly packed up their weapons, marched on over, and are now entrenching themselves in their new terrain. Let’s not just stand idly by.

Read more:

Six Pro-Life Endeavors Christians Can and Should Employ (IFI)

How Pro-Life Is Your State (FRC)

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has identified a true major crisis in America, and then suggested the most absurd solution. In a recent speech, Schumer said:

“Now more than ever we’re short of workers.”

This statement is true. Why is that?

First, we need to consider that Progressives have cultivated in Generation Z (youth born from approximately 1997-2012) an entitlement mentality. Gen Z is more likely than any previous generation to believe it is the responsibility of government to take care of them and meet their needs from cradle to grave. They have had access to many socialist-leaning policies that have de-incentivized them to work. Others have found ways to develop a lifestyle as a perpetual student, thus delaying getting an actual job. Many have found they make more money from the government by not working rather than working.

But there is another problem Schumer also correctly identified:

“We have a population that is not reproducing on its own with the same level that it used to.”

Schumer’s Solution? (Imagine All the People)

“The only way we’re going to have a great future in America is if we welcome and embrace immigrants—the DREAMers and all of them—because our ultimate goal is to help the DREAMers—but get a path to citizenship for all 11 million, or however many undocumented, there are here.”

Who Are the DREAMers?

Allow me to give a quick definition of “DREAMers.” “The DREAM Act” was a bill presented in 2001 by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). It never gained traction, even though it popped up in Congress several times (never being approved). The goal was to create a law that allowed anyone who arrived in America under the age of sixteen (and had been a resident for five years or more as well as a few other criteria), to obtain legal citizenship. The bill went nowhere until Barack Obama created an executive order, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act (DACA), making the concepts contained in The DREAM Act an informal policy in 2012. Many have argued that this executive order was unconstitutional.

The Crisis of Declining Birth

In a previous article for IFI in 2018, I wrote about the “New Demographic Winter,” coming economically to America. I discussed the history of the over-population myth and the perils that occur when a national fertility rate dips below 2.1 births per (hopefully married!) woman. According to the World Economic Forum in 2021: “The United States has seen a 50% decline in birth rates between 1950 and 2021, from 25 births per 1,000 people to 12.” More specifically, in May of 2021, America reached a record low of 55.8 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age.

Why Fewer Babies?

There are many reasons for this phenomenon.

First, having children is strongly discouraged in our culture as women are told they are “wasting their education” if they do have children. More women than ever are obtaining college degrees, and they are taught that having children means they are throwing away everything they invested their time and money in achieving.

Second, in 1950 women were having babies at 20 years of age. Today, many women are delaying marriage, and thus childbearing, until their early 30s (shortening their birthing years).

Third, contraceptives have been nearly universally utilized, for even married women, making it easier for them to avoid pregnancy.

Fourth, government-created inflation has created a scenario where many couples feel they simply can’t afford to have children (especially considering the massive college debt many bring into their marriage). Parents are told by the media that a family will spend on average $233,610 per child before they are 18 years old. This scares many off from the idea of having more than one or two children.

Fifth, Progressives have championed the growth of homosexual relationships that, of course, cannot produce children.

There are other factors, of course, but the one that is completely ignored by Schumer and the media is the most troubling.

Mass Genocide of the Unborn

Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, over 60,000,000 babies have been brutally murdered in their mothers’ wombs.  Most of these babies, had they lived, would be working in today’s economy. Whose party has been the champion of this horrendous policy? Schumer’s democratic party of course. They created the very problem they now lament. However, rather than turning to the natural solution of encouraging men and women to marry and have their own children, Schumer has turned to a “solution” that is also fraught with problems that we will experience down the road.

Mass Amnesty

Schumer wants to make 11,000,000 illegal immigrants (or however many there are) naturalized citizens. America has always been a nation that welcomes immigrants. Both Republicans and Democrats want there to be legal pathways for people from other countries to come to America and create a new home.

Even the Trump administration suggested policies that would find a pathway of citizenship for those who were brought to America by their parents as children. No one is advocating for being unsympathetic to the plight of young children, or to those who were moved here through no choice of their own. The Democrats like to highlight undocumented children, because we are all sympathetic to their plight, but they are only a small fraction of the millions Schumer is suggesting we admit to citizenship.

If a child is deported along with his or her parents, the Democrats say we are uncaring. But let’s suppose we allow the DREAMer children to stay in the country, but deport their illegal parents. What kind of life is that for a child? What child wants to be separated from his or her parents? That’s way more cruel than deporting the entire family. Not to mention children left alone in this country will likely be raise by the government, costing tax-payers billions of dollars for their care. So Democrats say we should just let the whole family stay.

The problem is, mass amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, coupled with no strategic border control, will only entice millions more to flood across the border illegally, using resources that should belong to American citizens.

A mass integration of millions of undocumented aliens does not allow for the careful analysis and background checks necessary to ensure that we are not white-listing millions of people with criminal records from other countries who have been hiding here within our borders. We know many have come to America smuggling drugs, contraband or even participating in human trafficking. These are not the kinds of citizens America needs.

At a time when our health care system and many government agencies are already overwhelmed, and when current housing is in short supply, documenting that many illegal immigrants will make the cost of living for current citizens skyrocket, and will make resources scarcer. This isn’t true with babies because they aren’t all born on the same day. For current citizens who have been trying to find work, this will make their search more difficult.

It is generally agreed that the primary goal of Democrats in promoting this kind of legislation is to buy votes from these illegals who will feel obligated to vote for the party who welcomed them in, even though they didn’t go through proper legal channels. This is part of the Democrats’ strategy, along with election redistricting, relaxing voting requirements and other such initiatives to wrest future national elections away from the Republican party for good.

Immigration Reform

In the end, we definitely need a much more efficient immigration process that allows for a faster legal documentation for law-abiding applicants to become a part of our American way of life. Our current bureaucracy is terribly inefficient (as is the process of parents seeking to adopt needy children through foreign and domestic adoption). We can achieve our goals of a safe and diverse population through a balanced, common-sense approach to both reasonable immigration and encouraging domestic birth.

The one thing we should not continue to do is to kill off our own offspring and try to compensate for it by throwing our borders open to any criminal who wants to invade our country without going through proper screening and vetting.