Clarifying Roe v Wade

May 12, 2022 |
clarifying Roe v Wade

clarifying Roe v WadeMany people believe that abortion will be illegal should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v Wade. No, that is not what will happen. Abortion will still be legal. The matter will simply return to the states where voters can regulate abortion via their state legislators.

Interestingly, 79% of all voters DO want abortion regulated in some manner, according to a recent poll by Pew Research. You won’t hear the mainstream media or liberal politicians acknowledge that, though. Rather, they use fear tactics that suggest Republicans and conservative judges want to ban contraception (false); make therapeutic ectopic pregnancy treatments illegal (false); and ban interracial marriage (comically false).

The last fear-mongering tactic is especially amusing in light of the interracial marriage between originalist justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia.

Poll results depend upon how the question is asked

Polling results vary wildly depending on how the question is asked. In fact, the National Review’s David Harsanyi wrote a piece today headlined, “Abortion Polls Are Garbage.” Here are the types of questions that are never asked, he writes:

  • Do you support the Democratic Party effort to legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy on demand for any reason in all 50 states?
  • Do you support the Democrats’ efforts to prohibit states from passing laws that forbid abortions after viability?
  • Do you support the Democrats’ efforts to prohibit states from passing laws against sex-selective abortions?
  • Do you support the Democrats’ efforts to overturn existing laws that require parental or guardian notification for minors?
  • Do you agree with Democrats that non-doctors should be given the right to perform abortions through all nine months of pregnancy?
  • Do you agree with the Democratic Party’s efforts to strip medical workers of conscience rights and compel them to participate in abortion procedures or lose their jobs?
  • Democrats, including Joe Biden, want to eliminate the Hyde Amendment so that the federal government can fund abortions through nine months with taxpayer dollars. Do you agree?
  • Do you agree with the Biden administration that more abortions are vital in keeping down the poor population, increasing labor-force participation, and helping the economy?
  • A few years back, Republicans in Congress attempted to pass a 20-week limit on abortion. Do you think such a limit is reasonable?
  • In Florida and Mississippi, Republican governors have signed laws limiting legal abortion to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. Would you support similar limits in your state?

This kind of data would be revealing

And yet, data from polling of this nature would be instructive to a sincere national dialogue on abortion. Harsanyi points out that each of these questions flesh out how out-of-touch the Democrat’s ‘Women’s Health Protection Act’ would be with the public once they understood what it would really do.

As we wrote in a previous blogpost, a Marist Poll commissioned by the pro-life Knights of Columbus revealed that 61% of rank and file Democrats are in favor of significant restrictions on abortion.

For example:

  • 29% want abortion restricted to the first three months of a pregnancy.
  • 19% only want abortion used in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
  • 9% only want it used if it is necessary to save the life of the mother.
  • 4% of Democrats believe it should never be permitted under any circumstances.

The Women’s Health Protection Act has nothing to do with women’s health. It is a radical bill that would prevent the kind of abortion regulations Democrat voters really desire. Thankfully, it once again failed to pass yesterday with every Republican voting against it, along with Democrat Joe Manchin.

If in fact Roe falls, states will once again be empowered to implement regulation on abortion based on the wishes of their voters rather than unelected judges.

[Pulse Life Advocates is working on its next video project, “How to Raise Pro-Life Children.” Help us fund this exciting project with your gift today.]

Senator Schumer calls for abortion-on-demand roll call vote today

May 11, 2022 |
Chuck Schumer
Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

One of the most deceitfully-named bills in Senate history is up for a vote again today.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is bringing the ‘Women’s Health Protection Act’ to the Senate floor for another vote, despite failing in a February 28th vote.

Schumer is forcing the vote in reaction to the leaked Supreme Court draft document which suggests that SCOTUS may overturn Roe v Wade. He wants to put members of both parties on record as either supporting or opposing this dreadful piece of legislation.

As Pulse Life Advocate’s Executive Director explained:

“The Women’s Health Protection Act would make us more pro-abortion than China.”

Essentially, the bill’s sponsors believe it would codify abortion and override all anti-abortion regulations passed by state legislatures, such as the fetal pain restrictions Iowa’s legislature passed banning abortions after twenty weeks.

The bill keeps failing, Democrats keep trying to get it passed

This bill was proposed by Democrats in 2013, 2015, and 2017, failing each time. What is interesting is that its latest version removed carve-outs for parental-notification laws, such as we have on the books in Iowa.

In other words, Democrats recognized that laws which required parental notification before their child could obtain an abortion resonated with voters across the country. Until this year, the Women’s Health Protection Act allowed for those laws to stand. But since the party has been purged of its last pro-life member, the exemption was dropped.

In this year’s cloture vote on the bill, every Democrat in the senate, except for Joe Manchin, voted yea, every Republican voted nay.

Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst both opposed this abortion bill in February. Pulse encourages you to contact them and let them know you appreciate their pro-life opposition to the Women’s Health Protection Act.

Democrats want to ‘codify’ Roe v Wade

If Democrats succeed in passing the bill, abortion will be “codified” into the law of the land, eliminating all democratically-enacted regulations on abortion at the state level.

Under this bill, abortion would be legal for all nine months of a pregnancy. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops details the type of laws this bill will ban:

  • laws requiring that abortion be performed only by a physician
  • ultrasound laws
  • parental notice or consent laws
  • waiting period laws
  • admitting privilege laws
  • laws that regulate prescribing, dispensing, or administering drugs for the purpose of inducing an abortion
  • laws regulating or restricting the use of telemedicine specifically in relation to abortion
  • health or safety regulations specific to abortion facilities
  • licensure, certification, and other credentialing requirements specific to a health professionals or facilities that performs abortions
  • laws prohibiting government funding for abortion
  • laws prohibiting use of government-owned or -operated facilities for an abortion
  • laws authorizing the exclusion of abortion coverage from a health plan
  • laws creating any “similar” limitation; and
  • laws that “impede access” to abortion, no matter how reasonable the law or how slight the impediment, including (a) any law that would delay or deter “some” patients in obtaining an abortion even if there would be no delay or deterrence in the vast majority of cases, and (b) any law that would increase the cost of an abortion, no matter how reasonable the law or how negligible the increased cost.

This is a radical piece of legislation that even most rank and file Democratic voters oppose, once they realize what the bill actually does.

Senator Schumer is demanding this vote as a political ploy to scare elected officials into caving to the radical laws demanded by Big Abortion.

Watch it backfire.

Pro-life leaders react to news on Roe v Wade

May 3, 2022 |
Pro-life leaders react

Pro-life leaders reactPolitico reports that Roe v Wade will be overturned after receiving a leaked draft. The report states that the draft was written by Samuel Alito who says:

“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

Pro-life leaders throughout the country reacted.

Jeanne Mancini

March For Life president, Jeanne Mancini, said that …

 The March for Life “will not be providing comment on an official decision of #scotus possible leak until a decision is officially announced. We also believe that given the leak the court should issue a ruling as soon as possible. This leak was meant to corrupt the process. It is heartbreaking that some abortion advocates will stoop to any level to intimidate the court no matter what the consequences.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser

Susan B. Anthony president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, said:

“If the draft opinion made public tonight is the final opinion of the court, we wholeheartedly applaud the decision. The American people have the right to act through their elected officials to debate and enact laws that protect unborn children and honor women. If Roe is indeed overturned, our job will be to build consensus for the strongest protections possible for unborn children and women in every legislature.

We also recognize the need for the pro-life movement to continue its existing work to support pregnant women and children in need. There are thousands of pro-life pregnancy centers and maternity homes nationwide and an ever-growing pro-life safety net. The pro-life movement will continue to grow to meet the needs of these women and their families, walking and planning with them to love and serve both mother and child.”

Lila Rose

Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action makes it clear that the demise of Roe is just the beginning:

“Roe has been wrongly decided since the day it was issued. It’s illogical and gravely unjust. Overruling Roe would be an important step in the right direction of protecting our fundamental right to life. But if this decision is issued, true justice has not yet been achieved.

It’s not enough to send abortion back to the states. Democracies shouldn’t have the ability to vote on if a genocide can be committed against an entire group of people. Human rights are not decided by majority vote. They are inalienable.

Pray for the Justices tonight and every night until the decision comes out. I fear there will be unprecedented threats against them.”

Maggie DeWitte

Pulse Life Advocates executive director, Maggie DeWitte, reacted to the possibility of a world without Roe from an Iowan perspective:

“In Iowa, as we have shared with you for the last several years, abortion will unfortunately continue.  Because of the 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling that stated we have a fundamental right to abortion in our Iowa Constitution, we must pass our Protect Life Amendment next legislative session to undo this ruling.  Otherwise, we could see Iowa become an abortion mecca as women from states with abortion outlawed travel to our state to end the life of their unborn child.”

Whether Roe lives or dies, the pro-life imperative has just moved to the next level.  Pulse Life Advocates is ready to continue the fight in this, our 50th anniversary. We cautiously celebrate the tremendous progress that has been made in Iowa and nationally. But as long as a single baby is aborted, our work isn’t over.

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Maggie DeWitte reacts to breaking news on the future of Roe

May 3, 2022 |
Maggie DeWitte at the Capital
By MAGGIE DeWITTE

Maggie DeWitte at the Capital

I can hardly put into words all the thoughts and emotions that are going through my mind and heart at learning of the real possibility that the US Supreme Court has ruled to overturn the egregious Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in our country.

For nearly fifty years, Pulse Life Advocates and pro-life groups across the country have fought for the rights and protections of our unborn brothers and sisters.  We have lost nearly 65 million during these fifty years.  The loss of life is unconscionable.

Yet, we never gave up.  We never gave in.  We never stopping fighting and praying and educating.  And now we might finally see the rewards of this long battle.

For many states across the country, this will be the end of abortion.  Upon the fall of Roe, abortion law goes back to the individual states.  Many states have laws on the books that state that when Roe is overturned, abortion will be illegal in their state.

In Iowa, as we have shared with you for the last several years, abortion will unfortunately continue.  Because of the 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling that stated we have a fundamental right to abortion in our Iowa Constitution, we must pass our Protect Life Amendment next legislative session to undo this ruling.  Otherwise, we could see Iowa become an abortion mecca as women from states with abortion outlawed travel to our state to end the life of their unborn child.

We must pray for the justices on the US Supreme Court as they will certainly be attacked and their lives threatened by this opinion.  And we will continue to work.  Abortion will never completely go away, because of our fallen world.  We will need to redouble our efforts to support the many pro-life pregnancy clinics across Iowa and continue to work to change hearts and minds.

[Maggie DeWitte is Executive Director of Pulse Life Advocates. Pulse needs your financial support more than ever as the fight for Life seems to be moving back to the States. Support life: make your gift today. Thank-you.]

The scandal of Roe v Wade

May 3, 2022 |
scandal of roe

scandal of roeSomeone working within the Supreme Court leaked a draft decision to Politico written by Justice Samuel Alito purporting to overturn Roe v Wade. If true, this is welcome news to pro-life warriors everywhere who have prayed, marched, sidewalk-counseled, written letters, lobbied elected officials, started pro-life clubs, and donated money to pro-life causes to bring an end to the scandal of Roe v Wade.

Roe has been bookended by scandal. It was a scandal when decided in 1973, and it is a scandal today in the way a draft decision was leaked to the press before a decision is official.

Why was this draft document leaked?

Intimidation. And it appears to have been coordinated with the Democratic Party, which began to fundraise on it last night, and abortion groups:

scandal of Roe

In lockstep with the leak, abortion groups instantly appeared before the Supreme Court last night with chants of ‘fascist scum have got to go’ mingled with the names of Republican-appointed justices. Protestors displayed signs which said “F-CK SCOTUS,” and “Sam Alito Retire B-tch.”

Abortion-minded politicians have egged on the abortion mob in the past.

Standing in front of the Supreme Building in March of 2020, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attempted to intimidate Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh with this overheated rhetoric before an already inflamed crowd:

“I want to tell you Gorsuch. I want to tell you Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

Mobs are used to intimidate. And indeed, abortion protestors can quickly morph into a mob, as Molly Hemingway reported, writing for The Federalist:

“The Supreme Court was attacked by a crazed mob in the aftermath of the Kavanaugh confirmation. Hundreds of raucous protesters tried to break down the 13-ton bronze doors. They scaled the building and its statues and threw tomatoes and water bottles at the cars of justices who had attended his swearing-in. The mob even went after Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan.

Mobs had also rioted in Senate buildings in the lead-up to Kavanaugh’s confirmation. They had disrupted the official constitutional proceedings associated with his nomination and review.”

So, does this leaked draft suggest that Roe IS going to be overturned?

We hope so, but as baseball great, Yogi Berra once said, “it ain’t over until it’s over.”  Clearly, the leaked draft is intended to intimidate an originalist jurist to change his/her vote.

Who supports overturning Roe? 

According to Politico, all three Trump nominees, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, are on board to overturn Roe. Same with Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, author of the draft decision. Chief Justice John Roberts is apparently undecided.  Politico’s reporting makes it clear that this isn’t a done deal:

“Deliberations on controversial cases have in the past been fluid. Justices can and sometimes do change their votes as draft opinions circulate and major decisions can be subject to multiple drafts and vote-trading, sometimes until just days before a decision is unveiled. The court’s holding will not be final until it is published, likely in the next two months.”

So we’re forced to return to the motive behind the leak of the Alito draft. The whirlwind which Chuck Schumer unleashed (not ‘Gorsuch and Kavanaugh’) is intended to threaten at least five justices into rethinking the Alito decision and water down the draft, or completely reverse course. It’s not likely to happen, but the threat is apparent, and it is real.

So, assuming Roe IS reversed, how does that affect Iowa? 

Not at all. Each state will regulate abortion according to the desires of their voters.  In Iowa, abortions aren’t allowed after 20 weeks, when the unborn person feels pain.

However, in 2018, the Iowa Supreme Court discovered a ‘fundamental right to abortion’ in the Iowa Constitution.  Pulse Life Advocates, in conjunction with our allies in the Iowa Pro-Life Coalition, are fighting back with a proposed Protect Life Amendment to the Iowa Constitution.

Whether Roe actually falls or not, pro-lifers MUST get this Amendment across the finish line.

In the meantime, let us marvel at the scandal of Roe, and savor the likelihood of its demise.

Legislative Update: Contact your representative in support of the MOMS Bill

Apr 27, 2022 |
Life at Conception Bill
non-partisan

State Capitol Building, Iowa

More Options for Maternal Support (MOMS) bill, SF 2381 would help ensure that every new and expecting woman in Iowa has access to meaningful assistance and support when she needs it most through life-affirming pregnancy resource centers. We believe this bill will not only support healthier mothers and children, but it will help our state reduce abortions! A subcommittee meeting was held in the House this morning.  Please contact your representatives and encourage them to pass the MOMS bill before session ends!

***
House File 2372 passed the Senate unanimously on April 19 and will go to the governor. Pulse supported the bill. It’s already against the law to force a woman to terminate her pregnancy without her consent. However, a 2017 Court of Appeals decision said that it must be proven that a woman was pregnant at the time of the crime (which is sometimes difficult to do after the fact). HF 2372 closes a loophole by adding that it is a felony to “attempt” to intentionally terminate a woman’s pregnancy.

Governor Reynolds signs Abortion Recovery Month Proclamation

Apr 26, 2022 |
Abortion Recover Month

By MAGGIE DeWITTE

Abortion Recover Month

This proclamation helps reiterate what we already know: Abortion hurts women and destroys families. And when women have been devastated by their abortion decision, they need to know there is hope and healing. We have hundreds of abortion recovery programs across the country and several in Iowa that help anyone who has been impacted by abortion to receive support, counseling and the services they need to put their lives back together. I am proud we have a Governor that understands this and supports creating a culture of life in Iowa.

The two shortest verses in the Bible reveal everything

Apr 19, 2022 |

You heard the two shortest verses in the Bible during Lent: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35), and “What is truth?” (John 18:38).

Let us reflect on the profound implications of these concise verses through the lens of the pro-life movement. They reveal the essence of the Bible.

Why did Jesus weep? Because we matter. His friend Lazarus died because He wasn’t there to heal him. He intentionally held back so He could perform the ultimate miracle: restoring life to the dead, because each life matters to God.

He wept because He was overcome by the anguish of Martha and Mary at the loss of their brother. Their grief deeply affected Him to the point of tears, tears that demonstrated His profound love for His friends. 

Within a week, a beaten and battered Jesus would stand before Pontius Pilate who asks, “What is truth?” Of course, the Roman Governor was oblivious to the fact that the Truth stood before him.

Christ’s coming crucifixion and resurrection revealed that He is fully divine with control over life and death. His tears before Martha and Mary revealed He is fully man.

His physical torture revealed the depth of his profound love for you. Why would a Man-God subject Himself to such horror? Because you matter.

There is such a simple pro-life message in these two shortest sentences in the Bible:

  1. “Jesus wept.” Why? Because you matter.
  2. “What is Truth?” That you matter.

Scripture makes it clear we were made in God’s image, that we are His creation. In that light, how could anyone who professes to love God tolerate or promote abortion?

Our dignity is a birthright at the instant of fertilization until our natural death. Any compromise at either end of the arc of our life is a crime against God.

The meaning is all there in five words divided into two sentences in the Gospel of John: You matter. Yesterday, today, tomorrow.

Hope in the face of evil

Apr 15, 2022 |

Dr. Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and author, reflected on the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday:

“You cannot write a more tragic story. It is impossible.

It’s an aggregation of everything people are afraid of. There was no death more painful than crucifixion. That’s why the Romans invented it. You know what’s coming.

Plus your best friend betrayed you.

Plus your people turned against you.

Plus they’re led by a tyrant who doubts Truth.

Plus you’re a victim of the Roman empire.

Plus you’re completely innocent, and everybody knows it.

Plus they choose a criminal to be released from this experience instead of you even though they know he’s a criminal and you’re innocent.

And you’re young … and you’ve done no wrong. All you’ve done is help people.”

(You can watch Dr. Peterson’s full remarks above.)

The definition of tragedy

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines tragedy as:

“a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror”

Good Friday is certainly a tragic and evil tale. Jesus is confronted by a seemingly superior force, evil, which leads to his sorrowful and disastrous demise.

‘Evil had been demoted’

The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Henninger made an interesting observation in his column this week writing on a different tragedy, the war in Ukraine:

“Evil fell into disrepute years ago. Evil implied the possibility of a devil, and both came to be seen as impediments to some forms of private personal behavior. So we demoted evil and expanded the definitions of goodness. But banishing the devil came with a price, which is apparent as the world stares into the abyss of human ruin in Ukraine.”

How exactly has evil been demoted? Take abortion. What can be more evil than aborting a baby because she’s inconvenient, especially knowing that adoptive parents wait in the wings for that child.

Evil has essentially been rebranded. In the case of abortion, abortion proponents proclaim it as ‘health care,’ essentially a moral good in their eyes.

The reinterpretation of evil

Henninger notes the recent reinterpretation of evil:

“In our time, especially the past 10 or so years in the United States, notions of what constitutes evil have been reinterpreted and distanced from individual responsibility. Evil had become oddly euphemized. Acts of murder, including mass murder, are less about the evil acts of individuals and more about their “guns.” On Monday President Biden gave a stirring speech about a federal plan to control “ghost guns.”

Climate change, a scientific phenomenon, has risen to become the “existential threat to humanity” (as per Mr. Biden again and countless others).

This is not to say these concerns are illegitimate but only to note how far the matters we consider important have drifted toward complex abstractions. One might call it the issuefication of morality.”

Did Jesus consider evil a “complex abstraction” on Good Friday?

On this Good Friday, let us remember that Jesus didn’t view evil as a complex abstraction. He looked Satan in the eyes and essentially said, “give me your best shot.”

Good Friday reminds us of the evil of abortion that kills innocent human beings for the crime of being inconvenient. 

Good Friday reminds us that you and I matter, from conception to natural death, because Christ allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross to rescue us from evil.

Good Friday reminds pro-lifers to never despair. The story doesn’t end on Good Friday. It begins. 

The ultimate tragic story in history was transformed into the ultimate triumphant story in history on Easter Sunday just three days hence. 

[Our next video project is titled, “How to raise pro-life children.” You can financially support this project here.]

Certificate of Nonviable Birth

Apr 11, 2022 |
Certificate of Nonviable Birth

On Wednesday, the Iowa Legislature gave final approval to SF 577, a bill that would allow mothers who go through a miscarriage to receive a “nonviable birth” certificate for their child, recognizing that child’s humanity and existence. The bill was inspired by successful programs in Nebraska and Florida and originally suggested by Kristen Stiffler, an Iowan in the Des Moines metro area.

We are thankful for Sen. Amy Sinclair and Rep. Carter Nordman carrying this bill through the Senate and House, hopefully offering consolation to grieving parents.