Florida Governor Ron DeSantis clearly struck a chord in last week’s Republican debate when he referenced an abortion survivor he knew. The Governor said:
“I know a lady in Florida named Penny. She survived multiple abortion attempts. She was left discarded in a pan. Fortunately, her grandmother saved her and brought her to a different hospital.”
Left-leaning journalist, Jill Filipovic, suggested that Mr. DeSantis was a liar in his claim:
“I understand that politicians lie, but DeSantis’s story about ‘Penny,’ a woman he says survived multiple abortion attempts and was rescued from a pan by her grandmother(????), is just such a bizarre and impossible story, it’s stunning that any human is that gullible.”
The Lincoln Project co-founder, Steve Schmidt, concurred with Ms. Filipovic:
“The story of Penny found in the pan by DeSantis is ludicrous, and obviously untrue. It should be looked into by the media.”
Ms. Filipovic’s and Mr. Schmidt’s skepticism is understandable. The media seldom covers the horror of abortion. Most supporters of abortion rights are oblivious that babies sometimes survive abortion, and those that don’t survive suffer gruesome deaths. In this case, the survivor of an abortion to whom DeSantis referred came forward to confirm his story.
Miriam “Penny” Hopper told her story to the media:
“My answer to that would be the fact that I did exist. I existed at 23 weeks. There are thousands of abortion survivors around the world who have stories to tell, who have miraculous stories to tell.”
Followers of Pulse Life Advocates already know that babies sometimes survive an abortionist’s ‘best’ efforts to kill them. Another such survivor was Melissa Ohden, who spoke at our annual banquet in 2011, as you can see in the photo above.
Ms. Ohden formed the Abortion Survivor’s Network (ASN) to provide support for babies and their families who survive abortion. Since Roe, 85,817 babies survived abortion nationally, according to the ASN. They estimate that 8 babies survive abortion each year in Iowa. Ohden provides insights into this little known subject:
“An abortion survivor is a baby who survives an attempt to abort them in the womb. Families are impacted by it. And so that’s where we’re launching this awareness campaign. But we don’t just do awareness. We stand alongside moms who are experiencing abortions that fail, or they stop them.”
Here is a quick look at Ohden’s story:
Ms. Hopper talked about the value of the ASN to her:
“There are organizations like Abortion Survivor Network that have created a platform for a woman to come and not only get and bring healing to this, to help her heal to the situation, but help her not choose abortion. I have friends who have chosen not to have an abortion, and that child became a blessing to their life.
“Even my father did not want me. Not only was I a failed home abortion, but when I was transported to Lakeland regional, he would go out there and try to remove me because he thought I was going to be a burden. As a child, I knew that my dad didn’t want me as a baby because he would tell me, ‘I didn’t want you. But I love you now.'”
That love would never have had a chance to flourish if Hopper had died during the attempted abortion on her little body. She recalled the conversation she had with her dad on his deathbed:
[He] “looked at me, and he said, ‘Honey, I don’t know what I’d have done without you.’ So all the pain, and all the rejection and learning my story, it made it worth it all. Both my parents loved me, and I love them dearly. And I have a brother that’s my best friend. And we have a very close-knit family. So forgiveness … is a wonderful force in life.”
Pulse Life Advocates and our followers know all about the ugliness of abortion, because we educate you on the issue at the same time corporate media tries to obscure it.
Kudos to Governor Ron DeSantis for shining a light on Penny Hopper’s story, and kudos to Melissa Ohden and the Abortion Survivor Network for providing needed support when a baby survives abortion.
[Help Pulse continue to shine a light on the evil of abortion. Join us at our Christmas Gala on November 18th]
Fox News hosted the first Republican debate last night, moderated by Bret Baier and Martha McCallum. Baier asked Ron DeSantis his views on the abortion issue. Here is how the Florida governor responded (above):
Ron DeSantis: “ … we sold the biggest election landslide victory in the history of the Republican Party in the state of Florida in 2022. That’s what I did. We can win.
But second of all, you’ve got to do what you think is right. I believe in a culture of life. I was proud to sign the Heartbeat Bill. One of the most impactful moments of my life is when I heard the heartbeat of my daughter in my wife’s womb and saw the sonograms of all three of my kids. What the Democrats are trying to do on this issue is wrong to allow abortion all the way up to the moment of birth.
I know a lady in Florida named Penny. She survived multiple abortion attempts. She was left discarded in a pan. Fortunately, her grandmother saved her and took her to a different hospital. We’re better than what the Democrats are selling. We are not going to allow abortion all the way up to birth. We’ll hold them accountable for their extremism.”
Bret Baier: To be clear, Governor, would you sign a six week ban federally?
Ron DeSantis: “I’m going to stand on the side of life. Look … I understand Wisconsin is going to do it different than Texas; Iowa and New Hampshire are going to do it different. I will support the cause of life as governor AND as president.”
The media tries to pin down pro-life politicians
Even right of center media like Fox News tries to pin candidates down on specifically what limits on abortion they’d promote as president. Governor DeSantis properly avoided getting nailed down by specifics, and instead focused on Democrats’ extreme position.
Amazingly, Democrats tried to pounce on DeSantis for mischaracterizing their position on abortion. President Biden’s former press secretary, Jen Psaki, actually Tweeted:
“No one supports abortion up until birth.”
Former Democratic senator, Al Franken, echoed the false claim. Said Franken:
“No one is trying to allow abortion right up to birth.”
Actually, EVERY single member of his party in Congress, except for Joe Manchin, voted to allow abortion up to birth when they voted for the dishonestly named ‘Women’s Health Protection Act’, which allows abortion up to the moment of birth.
The law states:
“A health care provider has a statutory right to provide abortion services, and may provide abortion services, and that provider’s patient has a corresponding right to receive such services, without a limitation or requirement that… impedes access to abortion services.”
Note the the words ‘without limitation.’
The abortion party is out-of-touch with voters
Democrats know that their extreme position is out of touch with most Americans. They know that the Women’s Health Protection Act would eliminate every abortion restriction passed by pro-life legislators. As press secretary, Ms. Psaki acknowledged President Biden’s full support for the law.
For the record, the Democratic Party’s 2020 platform makes it clear that they oppose any limits on abortion:
“Democrats oppose and will fight to overturn federal and state laws that create barriers to reproductive health and rights.”
These ‘barriers’ include heartbeat laws and pain-capable laws, which elected Democrats consistently oppose with near unanimity.
So Ms. Psaki’s protestations last night are disingenuous. Good for Governor DeSantis for exposing Democrat’s extremism on this important issue.
Haley throws the question back at the press
And good for Nikki Haley who threw the question back at the media’s coddling treatment of pro-abortion candidates:
“I think we’re all pro-life but what I would love is for someone to ask Biden and Kamala Harris are they for 38 weeks? Are they for 39 weeks? Are they for 40 weeks? Because that’s what the media needs to be asking.”
A dust-up between Haley and Pence
Speaking of Haley, she got into a dust-up with former VP Mike Pence on the subject of abortion in the first Republican debate:
Nikki Haley: We need to stop demonizing this issue. This is talking about the fact that unelected justices didn’t need to decide something this personal, because it’s personal for every woman and man. Now it’s been put in the hands of the people. That’s great. When it comes to a federal ban, let’s be honest with the American people and say it will take 60 Senate votes; it will take a majority of the House. So in order to do that, let’s find consensus. Can’t we all agree that we should ban late-term abortions? Can’t we all agree that we should encourage adoptions? Can’t we all agree that doctors and nurses who don’t believe in abortions shouldn’t have to perform them? Can’t we all agree that contraception should be available? And can’t we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion? Let’s treat this like a respectful issue that it is, and humanize the situation and stop demonizing the situation.
Mike Pence: I’ve been a champion for life in the Congress, a champion for life as governor and as vice president. And to be honest with you, Nikki, you’re my friend, but consensus is the opposite of leadership. When the Supreme Court returned this question to the American people, they didn’t just send it to the states only. It’s not a states only issue, it’s a moral issue. And I promise you, as president of the United States, the American people will have a champion for life in the Oval Office. Can’t we have a minimum standard in every state in the nation that says when a baby is capable of feeling pain, an abortion cannot be allowed. A 15 week ban is an idea whose time has come. It’s supported by 70% of the American people.
Nikki Haley: Well, when you’re talking about a federal ban, be honest with the American people. We haven’t had 45 pro-life senators in over a hundred years …
Mike Pence: I am being honest …
Nikki Haley: … so no Republican president can ban abortions anymore than a Democrat president could ban all those state laws. Don’t make women feel like they have to decide on this issue when we don’t have 60 Senate votes in the house …
Mike Pence: 70% of the American people support legislation that ban abortion after a baby [is] capable of experiencing pain.
Let us parse this exchange:
- Haley: “We need to stop demonizing this issue. This is talking about the fact that unelected justices didn’t need to decide something this personal, because it’s personal for every woman and man. Now it’s been put in the hands of the people. That’s great.” True, in that Roe v Wade took the issue out of the hands of the people. But imagine if the issue was slavery. Would we say that it’s ‘great’ that the issue has been put back into the hands of the people? No, because slavery AND abortion deny people their Constitutional rights.
- Haley: “Can’t we all agree that contraception should be available?” Half of all women seeking abortions were contracepting at the time they conceived. Contraception fails. When it fails, too many couples put the blame on the baby and abort it.
- Haley: “And can’t we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?” No serious pro-life groups call for this. Pulse Life Advocates certainly doesn’t.
- Pence: “When the Supreme Court returned this question to the American people, they didn’t just send it to the states only. It’s not a states only issue, it’s a moral issue.” True. Pulse would add that it is the ultimate HUMAN RIGHTS issue of our age.
- Pence: “A 15 week ban is an idea whose time has come. It’s supported by 70% of the American people.” For that matter, it’s supported by almost all of Europe where 47 out of 50 European countries have abortions bans between 12 and 15 weeks.
Republicans should combine DeSantis’ and Haley’s responses
Both DeSantis and Haley made good points in last night’s first Republican debate. Haley’s practicality could easily be folded into DeSantis’ hard-hitting response like this:
“What the Democrats are trying to do on this issue is wrong to allow abortion all the way up to the moment of birth. Now that the Supreme Court has returned this issue back to the people, I encourage voters to elect pro-life Congressional representatives who will pass pro-life federal laws. As your president, I will sign the pro-life legislation you send to my desk.”
Pulse Life Advocates exhibits at the Iowa State Fair as a critical strategy in our pro-life educational outreach. We touch tens of thousands of people every year with life-affirming messages that matter. We couldn’t do it without a committed team of volunteers.
We share our pro-life booth with our friends at Iowa Right to Life. Thanks to all of our volunteers and to IRTL for coming together with Pulse to project a compelling and authoritative pro-life presence.
Our investment in financial and human capital at the Fair does more than make an immediate impact. It plants seeds by exposing the sanctity of human life to young Iowans. We hand out thousands of 12 week fetal models to children who identify them properly as babies. Human dignity begins at conception, not just birth. These models convey that dignity to children as young as 3 or 4 years of age.
Our volunteers not only hand out fetal models to the kids, they also apply pro-life ‘tattoos’ to some of the older kids, which are especially popular with teen age girls. At the same time, they make sure to flag teens and give them our teen bags which arm them with age-appropriate reproductive educational material from a pro-life perspective.
Do you want Pulse to continue being a pro-life presence at the Iowa State Fair? You can help in two ways:
- Volunteer to help at the Iowa State Fair and other pro-life events. Click here to volunteer now.
- Donate. Our entire pro-life educational outreach is funded by regular Iowans who make regular, small donations each month.
- Sign our petition calling for Life at Conception legislation.
Once again, thanks to our wonderful team of volunteers who made our presence at the Iowa State Fair such a success.
The 2023 Iowa State Fair has come to a steamy close. Our annual corn poll yielded some interesting results. Before we share them, many thanks to all the volunteers who helped Pulse Life Advocates man our booth and fulfill our mission …
… to inform, educate, and inspire a new generation to value the sanctity of all human life from fertilization to natural death.
We interacted with thousands of visitors during the Fair’s ten day run. Our 2023 corn poll asked this question:
Do you support a Life at Conception Law in Iowa? Yes … or no?
Here are the results:
YES: 6979 [81.4%]
NO: 1585 [18.5%]
TOTAL VOTES: 8564
Iowa is overwhelmingly a pro-life state, and our experience at the Fair confirmed that.
Currently, Iowa has a ban on abortions after 20 weeks. A Heartbeat Bill has been passed (twice!) and an injunction pends before the Iowa Supreme Court, which we believe will be lifted.
Since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v Wade last year, thirteen states have passed life at conception laws, including:
Idaho
North Dakota
South Dakota
Oklahoma
Texas
Missouri
Arkansas
Louisiana
West Virginia
Kentucky
Tennessee
Mississippi
Alabama
Pulse Life Advocates will work in concert with the Iowa Coalition of Pro-Life Leaders to advance a Life At Conception Bill in the Iowa Legislature.
[Pulse Life Advocate’s pro-life educational outreach depends on you. Donate today.]
Some good pro-life news: The Fifth Circuit Court said yesterday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) erred when it allowed mail order abortion pills in 2016 and 2021. Let’s take a closer look.
Is this a big deal? This is a “significant victory” exclaimed Erin Hawley, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom who argued the case. She continued:
Erin Hawley, attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom
“Today the Fifth Circuit rightly required the FDA to do its job and to restore crucial safeguards for women and girls, including ending illegal mail-order abortion. The FDA will finally be made to account for the damage it has caused to the health of countless women and the rule of law by unlawfully removing almost every meaningful safeguard from the chemical-abortion drug regimen.”
What is the FDA’s history with mifepristone, aka the ‘abortion pill’? The FDA approved the brand name Mifeprex in 2000. Then in 2016 under direction from the Obama administration, they loosened restrictions on distribution of the drug to include the U.S. Postal service. The relaxed standards, according to Ms. Hawley, were driven by politics “without regard to women’s health or the rule of law.”
In a lower court decision in April, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk has suspended the FDA’s original approval of the abortion pill, writing that the:
“FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns — in violation of its statutory duty — based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions.”
So did that mean that the abortion pill was yanked off the market? No. The challenge was filed after the statute of limitations had expired. However, a three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit voted 2 to 1 to delay implementation of the FDA’s new, looser standards for the abortion pill.
What are these looser standards? They increased the gestational age at which the abortion pill could be administered from 7 weeks to 10 weeks; they reduced the number of office visits required to get the abortion pill from three to one; they eliminated the mandate for prescribers to report non-fatal adverse events attributed to mifepristone. And in 2021, the pandemic was used as cover to allow the deadly pills to be delivered through the mail.
The court wrote:
“In loosening mifepristone’s safety restrictions, FDA failed to address several important concerns about whether the drug would be safe for the women who use it. It failed to consider the cumulative effect of removing several important safeguards at the same time. It failed to consider whether those ‘major’ and ‘interrelated’ changes might alter the risk profile, such that the agency should continue to mandate reporting of non-fatal adverse events. And it failed to gather evidence that affirmatively showed that mifepristone could be used safely without being prescribed and dispensed in person.”
So what, if anything, has immediately changed? In the short term, nothing. The Supreme Court decided earlier this year to impose a full stay on this case until all appeals have been heard. But Ms. Hawley said that it …
“puts the FDA on notice as well as gives women a reason to maybe think twice about taking mifepristone unsupervised, certainly through the mail.”
Has anyone ever died from taking Mifepristone? Yes, 28 women according to the FDA.
How many adverse events have been reported? 4213 according to the FDA.
How many women were hospitalized because of Mifepristone? 1048 according to the FDA.
How many women experienced blood loss requiring transfusions? 604 according the FDA.
How many women suffered infections? 414 according to the FDA.
In light of the high number of injuries women have experienced from taking Mifepristone, why would the FDA want to eliminate reporting requirements for non-fatal adverse effects? That is a good question. Perhaps you should ask your Congressional representatives to ask the FDA this very question.
[Attend our annual Christmas Gala on November 18th. Buy your tickets online now.]
America has worked hard to promote pluralism. We’ve been wildly successful. Yes, there have been setbacks. But our motto of e pluribus unum, “out of many, one,” has worked because our nation enshrined in our Constitution as its most important rights the freedoms of religion and speech. The re-emergence of anti-Catholic bigotry in the past decade is a cause for alarm.
America is amazing. Protestants and Catholics; Democrats and Republicans; and even Red Sox and Yankee fans all peacefully co-exist despite major differences. But the bonds that bind seem to be fraying.
The election of Joe Biden as only the 2nd self-professed Roman Catholic (John Kennedy was the first) in our nation’s history should have been a cause for celebration. And yet his administration has been anything but a friend to our nation’s Catholic community.
FBI targets ‘Catholic extremists’
We learned this year that the FBI targeted traditional Catholics as ‘extremists’. When pressed on the matter before Congress, FBI Director Christopher Wray downplayed the matter. He asserted under oath that it was the work of a single rogue FBI field agent. Sadly, Mr. Wray’s testimony was less than forthright. He said:
“as soon as I found out about it, I was aghast and ordered it withdrawn and removed from FBI systems,”
The story changes
When a less-redacted version of documents involving the case was provided, the story changed. The FBI probe didn’t involve a single ‘rogue’ field office, it included several. Richmond. Los Angeles. Portland.
This single report is profoundly troubling. If this was a stand-alone incident, it wouldn’t loom as large as it does. But it’s not a stand-alone incident.
Raid on a Catholic pro-lifer
In Pennsylvania last year, the FBI implemented a dawn raid at the home of a Catholic pro-life activist, Mark Houck. Houck’s wife, Ryan-Marie described the events:
“A SWAT team of about 25 came to my house with about 15 vehicles and started pounding on our door. They said they were going to break in if he didn’t open it. And then they had about five guns pointed at my husband, myself, and basically at my kids.”
Houck’s crime? While praying at an abortion clinic with his 14 year old son, he had an altercation with an abortion proponent, whom Houck said verbally harassed his son. Houck acknowledges he shoved the man twice to get him away from his son. The man sustained no injuries. Watch the video above for a recap.
The Philadelphia DA declined to take up the case. A follow up private criminal claim was also thrown out. But that wasn’t good enough for the Biden Justice Department who arrested Houck.
The jury found Mr. Houck not guilty of assault charges related to violating the FACE Act, (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act). Presiding Judge Gerald Pappert was surprised the Justice Department had even pursued the case, wondering aloud to the prosecution whether the FACE Act didn’t “seem to be stretched a little thin here.” Had Houck lost the case, he could’ve received 11 years in prison … for shoving a man who harassed his young son.
Catholic Churches under attack
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reported on the proliferation of arson, vandalism, and other destruction taking place at Catholic Churches in the United States:
“At least 272 incidents have occurred across 43 states and the District of Columbia since May 2020. Incidents include arson, statues beheaded, limbs cut, smashed, and painted, gravestones defaced with swastikas and anti-Catholic language and American flags next to them burned, and other destruction and vandalism. This list shows incidents of vandalism, arson, or other destruction at Catholic sites that have been publicly reported in news media. It excludes incidents where circumstances suggest a motive other than hostility toward the Church.”
Most of these acts of desecration go unsolved.
Foster care obstacles
In Massachusetts, the state’s Department of Children and Families denied a Catholic couple’s foster-care application. The state considered them unfit to be foster parents because of their unwavering Catholic beliefs.
The State didn’t pull any punches. They said of Michael and Kitty Burke that …
“… their faith is not supportive [of LGBT issues] and neither are they. [They] would not be affirming to a child who identified as LGBTQIA.”
Kamala Harris
As a senator, current vice president, Kamala Harris demonstrated anti-Catholic bigotry (above) in her questioning of Brian Buescher a few years ago, who was nominated to serve as a district judge in Nebraska. Harris asked:
“Since 1993, you have been a member of the Knights of Columbus, an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men. In 2016, Carl Anderson, leader of the Knights of Columbus, described abortion as “a legal regime that has resulted in more than 40 million deaths.” Mr. Anderson went on to say that “abortion is the killing of the innocent on a massive scale.” Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?”
She demanded to know if Mr. Buescher “ever, in any way, assisted with or contributed to advocacy against women’s reproductive rights.” In essence, Kamala Harris suggests that membership in the Knights and adherence to this core teaching of our Catholic faith disqualifies a person from judging the laws of our land.
Similarly, Senator Diane Feinstein indicated misgivings about Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Catholicism during her 2017 confirmation hearing to the Court of Appeals. Senator Feinstein fretted:
“The dogma lives loudly within you.”
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Dodgers honored the Catholic hate-group, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Bishop Robert Barron weighed in:
Bishop Barron wonders if the cultural power structure would react the same if Islam was similarly under attack. The answer is self-evident.
Five Catholic jurists
The Supreme Court features five originalist Catholic jurists: Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Bret Kavanaugh, and Samuel Alito. Cartoons like the one above suggest that decisions from this group are tainted, if not illegitimate, because of the underpinnings of their Catholic faith.
***
Catholics believe that human life begins at fertilization; so they support pro-life laws and oppose human abortion.
They believe that marriage is between one man and one woman.
They believe that God created man and woman. Period. There are but two sexes.
These beliefs put them in the cross hairs of a woke political party and culture that feels liberated to put their anti-Catholic bigotry on full display.
[Pulse Life Advocate’s pro-life educational outreach depends on you. Donate today.]
For those not old enough to remember these things, climate scientists warned we were heading into another ice age back in 1971. Seriously. (See the video below from 1979.) By the 1990s, the story had changed: we faced an existential threat of global warming. When the data didn’t cooperate, the new threat was ‘climate change.’ Now UN chief Antonio Guterres has decreed that “the era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has arrived.”
Why is Pulse Life Advocates interested in this topic?
Because it has an impact on sanctity of life issues. When the Secretary-General of the United Nations makes such a provocative statement, it adds fuel to the hysteria that surrounds this contentious issue.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal on July 30th, Allysia Finley reported:
“ … according to a World Health Organization report last year, the very “awareness of climate change and extreme weather events and their impacts” may lead to a host of ills, including strained social relationships, anxiety, depression, intimate-partner violence, helplessness, suicidal behavior and alcohol and substance abuse.”
She recounts a study done in 2021 of 16 to 25 year olds in ten different countries, including the United States, measuring the impact of climate change on their mental health:
“59% were very or extremely worried about climate change, and 84% were at least moderately worried. Forty-five percent claimed they were so worried that they struggled to function on a daily basis, the definition of an anxiety disorder.”
The root cause?
Ultimately, what is the root cause of their anxiety? Too many people.
In the provocatively titled piece, “To breed or not to breed,” the New York Times talked to couples who chose not to start families because of anxiety over climate change reports and Arctic ice forums. They view the risk of expanding man’s carbon footprint as too risky.
Says the article:
In a note to investors this past summer, Morgan Stanley analysts concluded that the “movement to not have children owing to fears over climate change is growing and impacting fertility rates quicker than any preceding trend in the field of fertility decline.”
Morning Consult polled young adults and learned that “one in four cited climate change as a factor in why they do not currently have children.”
In another poll by Morning Consult, one out of three U.S. adults named climate change as the main reason they wanted fewer children than what they had originally considered ideal. Twenty-seven percent said over-population was another concern.
Should abortion be the solution?
Tragically, when these young people unexpectedly conceive a child when contraception fails, they view abortion as the ‘solution’ for the sake of saving the planet.
For the record, the science isn’t settled on a wide-range of climate issues, and ‘global boiling rhetoric’ only fuels climate hysteria. Bjorn Lomborg is one such contrarian. As president of the climate think-tank, The Copenhagen Consensus, he uses a broader range of data points to see a larger picture on the issue. Writing in the Wall Street Journal this week, he said:
“One of the most common tropes in our increasingly alarmist climate debate is that global warming has set the world on fire. But it hasn’t. For more than two decades, satellites have recorded fires across the planet’s surface. The data are unequivocal: Since the early 2000s, when 3% of the world’s land caught fire, the area burned annually has trended downward.”
He says that last year enjoyed a record low for the world’s burned area at just 2.2%.
Sadly, data like that isn’t broadly reported while alarmist terms like “global boiling” is.
Climate predictions are often wrong
Just as the video above from the 1970s fretting about a coming ice age seems laughable today, Lomborg points out other failed climate scare tactics:
When reading headlines about fires, remember the other climate scare tactics that proved duds. Polar bears were once the poster cubs for climate action, yet are now estimated to be more populous than at any time in the past half-century. We were told climate change would produce more hurricanes, yet satellite data shows that the number of hurricanes globally since 1980 has trended slightly downward.
These climate scare tactics affect the willingness of young people to procreate. Certainly, it’s not the only reason birth rates are plummeting, but polling sheds light on their significance.
Politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez amplify the media’s apocalyptic rhetoric with dire forecasts, like this claim made in 2019:
“The world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change and your biggest issue is how are we gonna pay for it?”
Although she later backtracked, claiming that only those with a “social intelligence of a sea sponge” would believe such a claim, the damage was done. A Rasmussen Poll showed that two-thirds of Democratic voters do believe the claim.
Celebrities weigh in
Social influencers like actor Seth Rogen spread the gospel that babies are bad for Mother Earth:
“There’s enough kids out there. We need more people? Who looks at the planet right now and thinks, ‘You know what we need right now?”
He and his wife plan on remaining childless.
Poet and essayist, Katha Politt, built on Rogen’s gospel of climate apocalypse in The Nation:
“Does the world need more people? Not if you ask the glaciers, the rain forests, the air, or the more than 37,400 species on the verge of extinction thanks to the relentless expansion of human beings into every corner and cranny of our overheated planet.”
You get the idea.
Young people are terrified of babies, viewing them as a disease rather than a blessing (or as a resource for future innovation in solving our planet’s problems).
The impact of global boiling rhetoric
The impact is profound for practical and moral reasons.
Practically speaking, we need workers. The Wall Street Journal wrote last week that the U.S. may have 6 million fewer working age people by 2040. The reason? The falling birthrate.
Falling birthrates lead to labor shortages which leads to economic decline (see Japan and Italy) and more poverty and less creative thinkers to innovate us out of our problems.
But while climate alarmists proclaim global boiling and a climate apocalypse, they ignore the moral apocalypse which countenances abortion as the final solution for saving the planet.
Some on the pro-life side of the aisle suggest that more contraception is the key. Pulse has repeatedly written and spoken on this issue using data provided by Planned Parenthood’s research arm, the Guttmacher Institute: half of the woman who seek abortion were contracepting when they conceived.
Contraception fails. When it inevitably does, ‘global boiling’ rhetoric suggests that abortion is the best decision for the sake of Mother Earth.
That is why Pulse Life Advocates continues to write on this important subject.
[If you found this essay informative, be sure to subscribe to our blog. Your donation makes it possible.]
Des Moines mayoral candidate, Josh Mandelbaum, has made the expansion of abortion in Des Moines, Iowa, the centerpiece of his mayoral campaign.
He’s fundraising on the issue with email letters like this:
Dear [name],
Last week, the Iowa Supreme Court made a crucial ruling in the fight for abortion rights. Their decision means that Iowans still have a right to abortion care up to 20 weeks.
I applaud the Court’s decision, but the fight is only just beginning. We cannot pretend that Governor Kim Reynolds and Republicans in the state legislature will not try again and again to take away the right to an abortion.
The right to an abortion and reproductive health care is fundamental, and we have a duty to protect those rights. That’s why I introduced a resolution on the Des Moines City Council last year laying out how we could stand up for abortion rights in the city.
Unfortunately, my colleagues on the council rejected that proposal, preferring to leave this issue entirely in the hands of the very state leaders working to take away access to reproductive health care.
Thanks,
Josh
He’s running op-eds in the Des Moines Register, like today’s submission. Some excerpts:
“The right to an abortion and reproductive health care is fundamental, and the choice to receive such care is personal. Iowans overwhelmingly support access to abortion and reproductive health care. Despite this, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republicans in the state Legislature have taken us backwards by passing a draconian abortion ban to strip Iowans of a fundamental right.
In Des Moines, we have a duty to protect the health and well-being of our residents, and that does not change with the governor’s signature on this bill. We should be a voice for our residents and stand up for them even as Reynolds and the Republican legislators blatantly disregard us.”
He proceeded to tout the radical resolution he put forward last year that would force taxpayers to pay travel costs for city employees seeking out-of-state abortions, among other things. Here is his complete ‘wish list’:
- Provide a benefit to city employees to cover travel costs in the case that they must seek abortion care outside the state;
- Prohibit discrimination based on reproductive health care decisions;
- Prohibit use of city funds to store or catalog information about abortion, conduct surveillance or collect information to determine if an abortion occurred, or provide information to government agencies about an abortion;
- Make enforcement of state laws that seek to criminalize abortion the lowest enforcement priority; and
- Advocate for the codification of access to abortion care in state and federal law.
Every other mayoral candidate in the history of Des Moines has focused on “livability” issues that promote a clean, safe, vibrant community. Mandelbaum is the first to focus on death.
On July 15, 2023, one hour after his 89th birthday and surrounded by his family, Dr. Kenneth Francis Conry died of complications from Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, the condition that slowly claimed his body over forty years, but mercifully never his sharp mind nor his loving spirit.
Ken was born on July 14, 1934 in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Bernadine (Schultzen) and Francis Conry. He attended the Los Angeles schools of St. Dominicks Elementary, Loyola High School, and Loyola Marymount University. Upon graduating with a double major in history and pre-med in 1955, Ken ventured east to medical school at Creighton University in Omaha, where he met his beloved wife-to-be, Mary Vander Meer, a nursing student at St. Josephs College at Creighton. They married soon after Ken’s graduation in 1959. The young couple moved back to LA for Ken’s radiology residency at Queen of Angels Hospital. They quickly added three boys in three years to the family. In 1962, following residency, Ken and his family moved east to Washington DC where he served for two years as a Public Health Officer at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Ken practiced medicine in various hospitals from California to Kansas, Indiana to Arizona, while adding three more children and countless pets to the family along the way. The Conrys finally settled in Urbandale, Iowa in 1976. Ken retired in 2006 from the Greenfield Hospital and Veterans Administration Hospital in Des Moines.
Ken’s career as a radiologist and expertise capturing life in x-rays and ultrasounds sparked a lifelong passion for photographing beauty in the world, with a particular fascination with lighthouses. His photography has been featured and sold in galleries in Minnesota and adorn the walls of his family and friends, now beautiful reminders of his spirit. Always an adventurer, Ken was a Cessna pilot, avid cyclist, and an early adopter of kayaking. He loved birding, a passion he shared with his wife and siblings-in-law. Ken was a lifelong learner and voracious reader, particularly of history, and he often regaled his children and grandchildren with the true tales of our world. Ken gave generously, volunteered his time to various charities, and was an active member of his church, all while parenting six children, making Ken’s life a story of love – and chaos.
Ken is survived by his wife of 64 years, Mary (Vander Meer) Conry, their children: Kevin (Maristel) of Chanhassen, Minnesota; Mike (Joanne) of Dyer Indiana; Tom of West Des Moines; Kate of West Des Moines; Joan (Francis) Hart of Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Peter (Kristen) of Chevy Chase, Maryland; their 16 grandchildren: Patrick, Mary Rose, Michael (Molly), Margaret (Hunter), Erin (Brett), Thomas (Laura), Bridget, Sarah (Ryan), Steven, Julia, Mara, Clare, Patrick, Michael, Grace, and John; and two great grandchildren, Charlotte and James. His parents, niece Atea Savage, and brothers-in-law James and Peter Vander Meer, preceded him in death.
In 2008 the Abortion Party dominated national and state politics. Barack Obama was the newly elected president and his party controlled Congress. Chet Culver was in his second year as Iowa governor after trouncing the Pro-Life Party’s candidate by ten votes. His party controlled the Iowa Senate 32 to 18 and the House by 56 to 44.
Fifteen years hence, the tables have turned. What happened?
Recent history
In 2017, the Iowa Pro-Life Party passed a 20 week abortion ban, the point at which the unborn person can feel the pain inflicted on her by abortion.
The next year, 2018, they passed an abortion ban at the point at which a human heartbeat is detectable, which occurs as early as six weeks following fertilization.
That same year, the Iowa Supreme Court found a ‘fundamental right to abortion’ mysteriously embedded somewhere in the Iowa Constitution by Iowa’s founding fathers, a decision they corrected four years later.
Nonetheless, an injunction remained which prevented the Heartbeat Bill from being enforced. Even though Roe v Wade was overturned, the Iowa Supreme court refused to lift the injunction in 2023, asserting that the bill needs to be passed again.
So Governor Kim Reynolds called a special session last week and the Heartbeat Bill was once again passed, and another injunction was immediately slapped on it. We must wait another year before we hear if the Iowa Supreme Court will at long last allow the Heartbeat Bill to be enforced.
The pro-life party takes charge
The Pro-Life party remains on offense in Iowa, and Iowa voters keep voting for them in bigger numbers.
Again, it’s worth asking: what happened?
Remember, the Pro-Life Party had but 18 members in the Iowa Senate in 2008. But that number today stands at 34. They have controlled the Senate for seven years.
Remember, the Pro-Life Party had but 44 members in the Iowa House in 2008. But that number today stands at 64. They have controlled the House now for eleven years running.
And remember, the Iowa Pro-Life Party has held pretty much the same views on abortion the past fifteen years. Not so with the Abortion Party. Barack Obama shifted his party radically on the issue of abortion.
The Obama effect
Just two decades ago, at the federal level, both parties voted unanimously for the 2002 Born Alive Infants Protection Act.
But in Illinois, then state senator Obama opposed this type of law. With his ascension to the presidency, he guided his party on a path that refused to consider any regulation on human abortion at state or federal levels.
Consider …
A significant number of the Abortion Party (63 members of the House and 17 Senators) joined members of the Pro-Life Party in voting for a federal ban on partial-birth abortion in 2003.
In 2005, 54 House members of the Abortion Party voted in favor of the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which made it illegal for a non-parent to transport a minor across a state line for an abortion.
Today, with virtual unanimity, the Abortion Party opposes any such restrictions, a significant departure from the party’s conflicted views on the issue prior to the Obama presidency.
Today, the Biden/Harris administration has carried Obama’s radicalization of abortion to its natural conclusion, calling for ‘codifying’ abortion at the federal level.
Perhaps that’s why the Pro-Life Party has gained such traction in Iowa since the Obama presidency began. Iowans don’t like being pushed around by abortion extremists in Washington telling them how they should think on this life or death issue.
The Abortion Party loses control of the states
Other states feel the same.
Under Obama, the Abortion Party suffered their biggest losses in state legislatures in a century, losing 948 seats in all. The Pro-Life Party had more seats in 83 out of 99 state legislative chambers in 2016 than they did in 2008, reflecting a reaction against extremist top-down abortion policies.
Before Obama, the Abortion Party believed abortion should be “safe, legal … but rare.”
Post-Obama, the party considers abortion to be ‘healthcare’; a fundamental human right; that taxpayers should fund it; and that Catholic doctors and nurses, and hospitals perform them even if it violates their conscience. All of this should be mandated at the federal level, regardless of the political sentiments of the individual states.
They are out-of-step
The Abortion Part is out of step with more than Iowa voters. Seven out of ten voters who identify as members of the Abortion Party believe abortion should be regulated, in sharp contrast to their party leaders who no longer consider any regulation on abortion permissible.
Like voters in other states, Iowans don’t agree on every single aspect of the abortion debate. But in light of their growing majorities in the legislature and their landslide re-election of a pro-life governor, Kim Reynolds, it’s safe to say that Iowans are pro-life.
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