Missouri House Passes Pro-Life Bill Protecting Women Seeking Abortion

The following statement may be attributed to Pam Fichter, President of Missouri Right to Life:

We applaud the Missouri House of Representatives for passing HB 1274.  This bill offers protection for women seeking abortion by ensuring that complete information about the dangers of RU 486 and similar drugs are given to them and by requiring that they receive a complete physical 24 hours prior to being given the abortion drug.  This protective action will help ensure that the woman does not have a medical condition that will be exacerbated by the use of the RU 486 drug and create a life-threatening situation for her.
The bill would also ban so-called tele-med/video conference abortions in which the contact between the clinic and the woman takes place by tele-conference and the drug is administered locally to the woman without a proper physical examination.

This protective and common sense measure is for the protection of women seeking abortion. Why would anyone be opposed to women being fully informed about what RU 486 does to her body? Why would anyone be opposed to a woman being guaranteed a needed physical exam before an abortion?

Also receiving final approval in the House today was HB 1534, a bill that declares that the Missouri General Assembly finds that the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) exceeds the powers granted to Congress and makes it a misdemeanor for any officer of the state to enact Obamacare. Missouri Right to Life supported HB 1534 because we oppose the federal funding for abortion and rationing of healthcare contained in the PPACA.

Victory for Life! Susan G. Komen for the Cure Cuts Ties to Planned Parenthood

The following statement can be attributed to Pam Fichter, President Missouri Right to Life:

Missouri Right to Life applauds Susan G. Komen for the Cure for its decision to end their financial support of Planned Parenthood.  Komen does great work in the areas of breast cancer awareness, detection, prevention, research and treatment. It is good that they have finally disassociated themselves with the Nation’s largest abortion chain, which is currently under investigation by the Federal Government.

Not only is Planned Parenthood in the business of killing innocent human beings, but undercover investigations in recent years have revealed that they are willing to cover up crimes against underage girls and have also falsely claimed to offer women mammograms. There is also significant evidence to suggest that abortion increases a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer.

We hope everyone who truly cares about women and want to see breast cancer defeated will join us in thanking Susan G. Komen for the Cure for separating themselves from America’s abortion giant by sending an email to news@komen.org.

There are better ways to make sure that poor women have access to breast cancer screenings than giving money to an organization that alone is responsible for roughly three hundred thousand of America’s annual 1.2 million abortions.

Responding to Roe: We Will Not Rest!

Thirty-nine years ago the U. S. Supreme Court wiped from the books of all fifty states every law protecting the unborn child. In what Justice Byron White called an act of raw judicial power, seven of nine justices imposed on our land the perverse doctrine that a woman’s dignity depends upon her right to destroy her child. In concurrent decisions, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the Supreme Court created a constitutional right to abortion on demand and initiated a reign of terror against unborn children that has resulted in the deaths of close to 55 million babies.

Those outraged by this attack on the most innocent of all life have over these last thirty-nine years relentlessly sought to restore the promise of our founding fathers of an “inalienable right to life.” We have been at this a long time, passing our hope and our commitment to new generations. Nowhere is this more clear than in the gathering of hundreds of thousands of pro-life citizens of all ages and religions from across the country in the annual March for Life in Washington DC every January – the largest, most continuous, peaceful protest in our country’s history.

But this sad anniversary also brings with it cause for great hope because we are winning this battle. More than 60% of Americans in a recent Gallup poll believe abortion should be illegal in most circumstances, a six-year high. Additionally, 51% of U.S. adults say abortion is morally wrong.

In Missouri as well, there’s cause for hope. The number of abortion clinics in Missouri has gone from a high of at least six to just one facility currently performing surgical abortions, the Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood in St. Louis. Another cause for hope is that the 9,796 abortions performed on Missouri women in 2010, the latest numbers available, represents a 9.4% reduction from the previous year – greater than the decrease in the five previous years combined and less than half of the all-time high of 21,671 in 1980.

The legislative response to legalized abortion has played a critical role in reducing the number of abortions. Legislation supporting alternatives to abortion, increasing clinic regulations and requiring that women receive more information about the life of their unborn child and the dangers of abortion have saved thousands of lives. Good pro-life legislation protects every unborn child and every expectant mother. Missouri Right to Life will continue working to save lives through the legislative process.

Efforts of those who offer alternatives to abortion, those who pray and counsel women at abortion mills, those who speak out on the pain of their abortion, and pro-life voters who vote in favor of pro-life candidates by a two-to-one margin have all made a difference. The evil inner workings of abortion are being exposed for all to see with the revelations of criminality and gross malpractice in abortion mills across the country.

The battle between the culture of life and the culture of death was imposed on this nation by the lethal logic that we are not required to respect the lives of human beings if they are too small, too weak, too dependent, or too inconvenient. While we pro-lifers know that we are winning, we also know that there are miles and miles to go. We will continue to work for protective legislation for innocent human life. We will continue to witness in prayer, provide alternatives, and speak out against the injustice of abortion. In the greatest human rights struggle of our time – if not all times – we will not rest.

Pam Fichter
President
Missouri Right to Life

Abortions Suspended in Columbia Again!

We’re only one day into the fall 40 Days for Life campaign and there’s already good news. Here in Missouri, the Planned Parenthood in Columbia has lost yet another abortionist!

This is not the first time they have been without an abortion provider. PP in Columbia has gone through six different abortionists during the past two and a half years, including times during 40 Days for Life campaigns, and this facility has gone months at a time with absolutely no abortions. The physician they have on staff now has been called to active military service overseas so abortions will be suspended in October until they can find a replacement. Let’s pray they never do! Of course they are still making abortion referrals – mostly to the facility in St. Louis. We are praying for the efforts of all of our 40 Days for Lifers in both Columbia and St. Louis this fall! God bless you all!

Race for the Truth

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women (after lung cancer).It isn’t an exaggeration to say that almost all of us know someone who has been affected by this devastating disease and want to do what we can to raise awareness and help find a cure. As the Susan G. Komen “Race for a Cure” makes its way into St. Louis, MO this weekend, pro-lifers should keep a few things in mind:

1) Public records indicate that Susan G. Komen for the Cure (“Komen”) affiliates (Missouri is not among them) provided grants to local Planned Parenthood chapters for breast health care services as recently as 2009.

Though Komen’s grants were for breast health care services, Planned Parenthood (the largest single abortion provider in the country) stated in its 2007-2008 annual report that 31,729 fewer breast exams and 15,560 more abortions were provided in 2007 than in 2006. Also, a recent undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood by the Los-Angeles based Live Action contradicts the claim that they perform mammograms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq0kBkUZbvQ

Donors cannot control how an organization designates its funds. Therefore, money donated for a specific service, i.e. breast health care, directly frees up funds to support other areas of an organization’s agenda, i.e. abortion services.

2. It is highly ironic that the Komen would support an organization that is probably responsible for thousands of women’s deaths annually because of the link between abortion and breast cancer. The Komen website dismisses the link, but many peer-reviewed scientific studies demonstrate the statistical correlation between a previous abortion and a much higher risk of breast cancer in the future. Recent studies include those of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Joel Brind, Ph.D., a professor of Endocrinology and founder of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, and the work of Dr. Janet Daling, a leading cancer epidemiologist. Daling, a pro-choice advocate, said, “I would have loved to have found no association between breast cancer and abortion, but our research is rock solid, and our data is accurate. It’s not a matter of believing, it’s a matter of what is.”

3. Finally, Komen endorses embryonic stem cell research (ESCR), which requires the destruction of embryonic human life, stating that, “embryonic stem cells are currently considered to have the most potential for use in the regeneration of diseased or injured tissues” for cancer stem cell research. The destruction of human life at any stage of development is never morally acceptable and ESCR is also unnecessary since adult stem cell research has a proven record of cures and treatments.

The patients and families who are victims of this terrible illness remain in our prayers and we encourage all pro-lifers to focus on breast cancer awareness and prevention by spreading the word about and avoiding unnecessary risk factors like elective abortion and supporting some alternative organizations, like the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, that are dedicated to breast cancer awareness without giving money to those who destroy life and endanger women.

Abortions to Resume in Columbia, MO This Week

It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that after 16 weeks without abortions, the Planned Parenthood in Columbia, MO has found an abortion doctor who will start work there this Thursday, May 26. The Columbia Planned Parenthood represents one of only two abortion clinics here in Missouri, so the need for prayers and action as they attempt to resume this deadly practice is critical.

40 Days for Life of Columbia is asking all pro-lifers to please check your calendars, call your friends, bring your children and come to pray on the sidewalk this Thursday, May 26 anytime after 1:00pm. They expect to be there until 7:30 pm or later. As many as 15 women are expected to show up for abortions at this time.

The other bad news is that this new doctor will abort babies up to 13 weeks. This means surgical abortions, which have not been committed here since last summer. God has been listening to our prayers and we are praying for another miracle. We pray for the conversion of this doctor who will become an abortionist on May 26.

Planned Parenthood in Columbia is located at 711 N Providence Road. If you are able to come on Thursday, please send an email with ‘count me in’ in the subject line to columbia40daysforlife2@gmail.com. Of course, there can never be too many prayer supporters, so if you can not make it, please take a few minutes out of your Thursday afternoon to pause and pray for these women, children and especially for the abortionist!

Missouri House and Senate Pass Ban on Late-Term Abortion

Missouri Right to Life
Press Release

For Immediate Release:
May 12, 2011
For more information:
573-635-5110
314-966-3889

Today, May 12, 2011 the Missouri House passed SB 65 and the Missouri Senate passed HB 213. The Ban on Late-term Abortion, HB 213 and SB 65, was sponsored by Rep. Tim Jones in the House and President Pro-Tem Sen. Robert Mayer in the Senate. These bills would prohibit abortion on unborn children after 20 weeks gestation, a point at which an unborn child is fully capable of feeling pain. The bills passed both the House and the Senate with bipartisan support.

“Missouri Right to Life applauds the Missouri House and Senate for their passage of HB 213 and SB 65. Medical technology continues to improve the ability of a child born prematurely to live outside the mother’s womb. This legislation bans abortions after 20 weeks, a time at which more and more children are beginning to survive outside the womb. With advances in medical technology, children born prematurely are viable at increasingly earlier stages of development,” said Pam Fichter, President of Missouri Right to Life.

“Missouri Right to Life began working on the passage of HB 213 and SB 65 in mid-2010. We were motivated by the passage of the Nebraska Pain-Capable Unborn Protection Act in 2010. That legislation, written by the National Right to Life Committee, banned abortion in Nebraska past 20 weeks and caused abortionist Roy Carhart to move his late-term abortion business to other states. That legislation, as well as Missouri’s SB 65 and HB 213, also narrows the health exception for an abortion in situations where the woman’s life is in danger or continuing the pregnancy would cause physical harm to a major bodily function,” Fichter continued.

“While abortion at any stage of development is an offense against human dignity, certainly we can all agree that subjecting viable unborn children to the horrible pain of abortion is unacceptable in a civilized society. Unborn children are the most vulnerable members of the human family and cannot speak for themselves. Our shared humanity compels us to protect the most vulnerable among us, and we are grateful to all the House and Senate members who supported this legislation,” concluded Fichter.

Video: Sidewalk Counselor Role-Playing with Abby Johnson

Here’s some video from the sidewalk counselor training with former Planned Parenthood director and now pro-life advocate Abby Johnson in Jeff City MO last week! This was during the “role-playing” part of the night when they tested how much the audience paid attention during the training. Elizabeth McClung, Executive Director of Austin Coalition for Life, pretends to be a woman going in for an abortion and asks the audience what they would say to her. Towards the end Abby talks about how important the witness of women who regret their abortions is to “stopping them in their tracks” when you’re trying to get abortion minded women to talk to you.

Missouri Senate Passes Ban on Late Term Abortions

Today, April 7, 2011 the Missouri Senate passed SB 65, The Ban on Late-Term Abortions sponsored by President Pro-Tem Sen. Robert Mayer. SB 65 prohibits abortions on unborn children after 20 weeks gestation, a point at which an unborn child is fully capable of feeling pain. The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 27-5 . SB 65 now moves to the House. The House version of this bill, HB 213, sponsored by Representative Tim Jones passed the House on March 17, 2011.

“Missouri Right to Life applauds the Missouri Senate for their timely passage of SB 65. Scientific evidence tells us that an unborn baby at 20 weeks of age has all body systems working, reacts to stimuli, can hear noises outside the womb and recognizes her mother’s voice. Testimony from the medical community tells us that unborn children of this age are able to feel pain,” said Pam Fichter, President of Missouri Right to Life.

“Missouri Right to Life began working on the passage of this legislation in mid-2010. We were motivated by the passage of the Nebraska Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in 2010. That legislation, written by The National Right to Life Committee, banned abortion in Nebraska past 20 weeks and caused abortionist Roy Carhart to move his late-term abortion business to other states. Missouri Right to Life considers this its primary piece of legislation,” Fichter continued. “While abortion at any stage of development is an offense against human dignity, certainly we can all agree that subjecting unborn children to the horrible pain of abortion is unacceptable in a civilized society. Unborn Children are the most vulnerable members of the human family and cannot speak for themselves. Our shared humanity compels us to protect the most vulnerable among us, and we are grateful to Sen. Mayer, Representative Tim Jones and all the legislators who supported this legislation” concluded Fichter.

In addition, the Missouri House passed HB 28, The Pharmacy Protection and Abortion Drug Regulation Bill. This bill protects pharmacies from being forced, through threat of lawsuit, to carry abortion causing drugs. The bill sponsor is Representative David Sater. HB 328, sponsored by Representative Andrew Koenig, was combined with HB 28. HB 328 regulates the distribution of the dangerous abortion drug, RU 486. The combined bill passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 118 to 38. It now moves to the Senate for consideration. “We are grateful to Representatives Sater and Koenig and all the House members who voted for HB 28,” said Pam Fichter.

40 Days for Life and Planned Parenthood Bus Rally in Columbia, MO

For just a few years now there has been a peaceful 40 Days for Life presence outside the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Columbia, MO. Since these vigils have been going on PP has had a hard time keeping an abortionist on staff and have gone extended periods of time without committing abortions. They are currently without an abortionist and no abortions have been committed in the facility for eight weeks now, praise God!

There’s no doubt Planned Parenthood hates losing abortion services at any of their facilities, so I’m sure that’s why this particular PP was the focus of one of their big, ugly pink bus rallies (they were also in Springfield and St. Louis, MO). Of course, the word abortion was glaringly omitted from the bus, signs, t-shirts and I think even the entire rally (which I didn’t quite hear all of). That is because these rallies are about gaining momentum to counter pro-lifers’ campaign to defund Planned Parenthood and touting the other, seemingly non-controversial services they provide – most, if not all, of which are provided at many other places, even for low-income women without health insurance and none of which anyone is seriously talking about outlawing or anything of the sort.

I was able to make it to the rally, which was held on Saturday, with several other pro-lifers. While there I was interviewed by a reporter for the Columbia Missourian:

“We come out here because we believe that every life has value, every unborn child deserves a chance at life, and Planned Parenthood prevents that from happening in large quantities, every day, every year,” said Chelsea Zimmerman of Holts Summit.

She also took issue with its family planning services.

“The contraceptive mentality is anti-conception, basically, and so when conception happens, when contraceptives fail and conception happens, they need a back up plan and that’s what Planned Parenthood provides for them,” Zimmerman said.

Well, it’s not perfect, but it was the best I could come up with off the top of my head (after a quick prayer to the Holy Spirit!). The article is a little biased, at least in terms of how she reported the turn-out. She said that 40 Days for Life had 40 supporters show up. In truth it was about twice that and we looked pretty evenly matched up with the Planned Parenthood supporters, so I’m doubting the 150 number she came up with. I do think they had slightly more supporters than we did, but I’d still only give them a little over 100 at the most.

Here are a few pictures I took with my phone (my good camera’s battery was dead!!). Click each image for a larger version. Notice how the PP supporters couldn’t even line up in front of their own building. Love it! 40 Days for Lifers just took over the sidewalk right in front of the PP, so PP supporters had to line up to the side, across the street…or stand behind pro-lifers. Great job Mid-MO pro-lifers!!