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The Nidal Hasan Case: Justice Delayed

robert-morrison — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:40:54 -0500

It could hardly be more of what we used to call an “open and shut” case. Nidal Hasan, an active duty Army major and psychiatrist, walked into a room at Fort Hood, Texas, shouting “Allahu Akbar!” and shot thirty people, killing fourteen. One of his victims, Francheska Velez, was pregnant at the time.

She cried out “My baby! My baby!” but Hasan killed her and her unborn child anyway. The Obama administration has elected not to charge Hasan with violation of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, even though the law was passed explicitly to cover such instances.

The Fort Hood shootings occurred in November 2009. Hasan is only now slated to be brought before a court martial. The proceedings are scheduled to begin by July 1^st, three and a half years after the killings. The old maxim is: “Justice delayed is justice denied.” The foot-dragging on the part of the Obama administration in this case is unconscionable.

Because of these interminable delays, Hasan has been allowed to accumulate some $278,000 in pay and benefits as he awaits his court martial. Army spokesmen say Hasan has “earned” that much because he has not yet been convicted of anything and we must presume his innocence.

Must we presume it for three and a half years? It’s useful to compare the Obama administration’s treatment of Nidal Hasan with the Roosevelt administration’s actions toward captured Nazi saboteurs in World War II.

Eight German and German-American fighters in two squads were landed in June 1942, by U-boats on the beaches of Florida and Long Island. The Long Island group was spotted by a young U.S. Coast Guardsman. Seaman John C. Cullen refused a bribe from the Nazis and alerted his superiors back at his station. Because they had changed into civilian clothes, the saboteurs would be regarded as spies if apprehended.

Apprehended they soon were, as one of their number, George Dash, ratted out his cohorts. They had orders from their Nazi superiors to blow up war industries and military installations. By order of President Roosevelt, they were tried before a secret military tribunal on July 2, 1942.

The National Archives tells the story:

Matters moved quickly for [Army Judge Advocate General Myron C.] Cramer since he and [U.S. Attorney General Francis] Biddle began presenting evidence to the tribunal on July 8. Preliminary arguments and the taking of testimony took 16 days—an average of two days for each accused. The military commission completed its work on August 1, when it found all eight defendants guilty of "attempting to commit sabotage, espionage, and other hostile acts" and "conspiracy" to commit these same offenses. Cramer and Biddle argued that the Germans must be sentenced to death, and the commission agreed. Roosevelt approved the death sentence for six of the eight men, and those six were electrocuted on August 8, 1942. The other two were imprisoned and later deported to Germany after the war. The U.S. Supreme Court later upheld the jurisdiction of the military commission, and the lawfulness of its proceedings, in the case of Ex parte Quirin, which continues to be cited with approval by today's Supreme Court.

Cramer's work as co-prosecutor was praised by his superior as "historic evidence of his legal ability and sound judgment." He and Biddle had successfully completed the first military commission convened by a President and had achieved the best possible results for the government.

I am not necessarily endorsing capital punishment in this column. FRC has not taken a position on that question. But clearly this was no drumhead court martial. Instead, it was a serious and expeditious judicial proceeding. Our government was then able to act with speed and justice in prosecuting our enemies in wartime “to the full extent of the law.”

Nidal Hasan was known to federal investigators. He had been under surveillance for some time. As a medical graduate student, he had openly advocated jihad and justified killing “infidels.” And still he was allowed to continue in uniform as a major in the Army.

Even after his murderous spree in 2009, political correctness was not furloughed. The Army’s Chief of Staff, General George Casey, rushed to the Sunday TV talk shows and said: “As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well.” What the general seems not to have understood is that it is only by enforcing the Oath of Office that all service members voluntarily take that we can have the level of trust for all our troops that a vigorous national defense requires.

While Nidal Hasan continues to accrue pay and benefits, this administration has classified his killings as “workplace violence.” Thus, his injured victims have been denied Purple Hearts and the status of combat-wounded veterans. A bi-partisan group of congressmen, including Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and Chaka Fattah (D-Penn.) have written to Defense Sec. Chuck Hagel urging him to re-classify theFortHood killings as “combat-related.”

This would seem to be the bare minimum this administration could do to show it is serious about the defense of theUnited States. And it could also benefit from reading how their great liberal Democratic model, Franklin D. Roosevelt, acted in time of war.

The Social Conservative Review: May 23, 2013

kdw@frc.org (krystle-weeks) — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:08:52 -0500

Click here to subscribe to The Social Conservative Review.

Dear Friends,

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to determine whether or not prayers can be offered at government meetings (local, state, and federal). The act of prayer being offered at the beginning of official government meetings is as old as the Republic, and as important as ever.

On January 8, 2013, FRC submitted an amicus brief on behalf of 49 Members of Congress supporting the Alliance Defending Freedom's petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case, Town of Greece v. Galloway. In Galloway, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that public prayer before town meetings in Greece, N.Y. was an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. The Second Circuit court ruled this despite the town's highly inclusive policy that allowed even practicing Wiccans and atheists to offer civic prayers.

According to FRC's Ken Klukowski, "It is likely that the town of Greece will prevail before the U.S. Supreme Court in this case, and a victory for them will be a victory for all Americans of faith and for the Constitution itself."

Let's pray that Ken's prediction holds true: That God would work in the hearts and minds of our Justices such that one more ridiculous attack on our religious liberty will enter the dustbin of bad ideas, and that the right to pray to our Creator will not be diminished in an era so desperately needing His help.

Sincerely,

Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice President
Family Research Council

P.S. Be sure to watch FRC's latest webcast, "Inhuman: Undercover in America's Late-term Abortion Industry."

Educational Freedom and Reform
Homeschooling

"Homeschoolers Seen as Threat to the Nation," Touchstone Magazine
"Appeals court denies homeschooling family's asylum claim," WORLD Magazine
"Home schooling tripping up education reform," The Shreveport Times

Legislation and Policy Proposals

"The Real Crisis in Higher Education," Qideas
"Does Expanding School Choice Increase Segregation?," EducationNext
"Digital Trends Shifting the Role of Teachers," Education Week
"Utah Republicans Pass Anti-Common Core Resolution," The Truth in American Education
"Choices and Challenges: Charter School Performance in Perspective," Thomas B. Fordham Institute

College Debt

"Get Government Out of Student-Debt Business," The Center for Vision and Values
"The Looming Student Loan Crisis," The American
"Seeking solutions to the student aid mess," CBS News
"Paying For College By Selling Yourself," The Acton Institute
"Obama and Elizabeth Warren Feed the College Beast," Via Meadia

Government Reform
Regulation

"Texas Remains Wary of Burdensome Regulation," Reason.com
"Food Bans: Put Government Regulations on the Right Diet," The Christian Post
"Cybersecurity: Government Regulations Can't Keep Up," The Heritage Foundation
"Big Government Loses Control," The Wall Street Journal

Waste/Fraud/Abuse

"Government waste adds up: 45,000 empty government-owned buildings, $800,000 on bottled water," NewsChannel 5
"Government Should Run Like a Business--but Not in the Way You Think," The Atlantic
"Fix IRS by shutting it 'once and for all'," The Washington Times
"Multiculti U.," City Journal

Health Care
Abstinence

"Shut Up, Or You'll Kill Eros," The American Conservative
"Talking Abstinence With Your Teen," ThrivingFamily.com

Health care reform: Political and Legislative efforts

"A Prescription for Medicaid," National Affairs
"Was Jesus religious enough for HHS mandate?," Patheos.com
"Applying for ObamaCare: Still Not Simple," The Galen Institute
"Chicago-Area Ready-Mix Concrete Company Files Federal Lawsuit vs. Obamacare," Thomas More Society
"More Labor Unions Bail on ObamaCare," Townhall.com
"As Obamacare Draws Near, Lawsuits Against IRS May Exempt Millions," Forbes
"Under ObamaCare, IRS Is Creating Chaos For Doctors, Patients," Investors Business Daily
"An Early Sign of Obamacare's Impending Collapse?," Via Meadia

Homosexuality

"Gay marriage could stop Christians becoming teachers or doctors - church leaders," The Telegraph
"Engaging Gay Activists on Campus: A Primer," Intercollegiate Review
"In Belize, Global "Gay" Movement's Legal Roadshow Comes to Town," Turtle Bay and Beyond
"Same-Sex Marriage and the Inevitable Collapse of Culture," Religion Today
"'I want gay marriage but I also think marriage shouldn't exist at all'," The Iona Institute
"38,000 signatures against same sex 'marriage' delivered to Estonian parliament," LifeSiteNews

Human Life and Bioethics
Abortion

"Unborn Victims of Violence Act Used in Tampa," Family Research Council
"Can't afford an abortion? Lie to a friend or family member to get their money or take on credit card debt.," Family Research Council
"Did They Believe in Birth Control?," Patheos.com
"Kermit Gosnell: Epiphany for Birthers?," The Public Discourse
"Planned Parenthood and Big Abortion: Unpretty in Pink," Alliance Defending Freedom
"Congress Receives Irrefutable Evidence of IRS Harassment of Pro-Life Organizations," Thomas More Society
"European court pursues a 'stealth' mission regarding abortion and euthanasia," The Iona Institute
"Why Don't Women in the Developing World Use Contraceptives? It's Not Lack of Access," Turtle Bay and Beyond
"The oxymoron of "safe" abortions," Live Action
"Planned Parenthood Sees Record High Abortions, Taxpayer Funding," LifeNews.com
"Dems look to crack down on anti-abortion 'crisis pregnancy centers'," The Hill

Bioethics and Biotechnology

"Survival of Extremely Premature Infants Possible, Improving," Charlotte Lozier Institute
"Ball State Will Investigate Course on 'Boundaries of Science'," Christianity Today
"9 Things You Should Know About Human Cloning," The Gospel Coalition

Euthanasia and End of Life Issues

"All the Lonely People," New York Times
"Vermont Assisted Suicide Bill: Vermont Gives Euthanasia the Green Light," PolicyMic.com
"How Not to Die," The Atlantic

Stem Cell Research
To read about the latest advances in ethical adult stem cell research, keep up with leading-edge reports from FRC's Dr. David Prentice, click here.

"Mapping a route to stem cell therapies," Phys.org
"Beware of stem cell therapy claims," USA Today
"Embryonic stem cells from cloned human embryos -- six reasons for caution," LifeSiteNews.com

Human Trafficking

"Sex trafficking: Christians called to be modern-day abolitionists," Baptist Press
"Backpage.com and Village Voice Call it Quits," Shared Hope International
"Helping Victims of Human Trafficking Escape Abuse," Fox 40

Marriage and Family
Adoption

"Adoption--A Beautiful Choice," Family Research Council
"Orphans, families in agonizing limbo," The Los Angeles Times
"Americans need to adopt new attitude toward adoption," The Kennebec Journal
"Christian Adoption: Disavowals and Affirmations," Desiring God

Family Economics

"Conservatives and the Non-Triumph of Capitalism," The Public Discourse
"Recasting Conservative Economics," National Affairs
"Study: Christians Who Tithe Have Healthier Finances," The Gospel Coalition
"Rent and Regulations are a Household's Greatest Expenses," The Acton Institute
"Respecting, Not Worshipping, Free Markets," Values and Capitalism
"What Is Flourishing?," Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics
"Why Suburban Poverty Is Less Visible and More Insidious," The Atlantic
"Jobs Jobs Jobs," Via Meadia

Family Structure

"Justice and the Marriage Debate," The Public Discourse
"What's Wrong with "Family Values"," First Things
"Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD," Psychology Today
"Desperate for Their MRS. Degrees," Christianity Today
"A Mom is a Mom (and Not a Dad)," The Gospel Coalition
"Polygamy and DOMA," Salt Lake Tribune

Media
Pornography

"Porn & A Culture Of Consent," The American Conservative
"Pornography risks should be taught to children as young as five, say parents," The Guardian
"The Ethics of Extreme Porn: Is Some Sex Wrong Even Among Consenting Adults?," The Atlantic

Internet

"Search Me, O God," First Things
"Technology, Decline, & Our Brains," The American Conservative

Religion and Public Policy
Religious Liberty

"The Difference Between Evangelization and Proselytization," First Things
"Freedom of the Church Without Romance," PrawfsBlawg
"Supreme Court will rule on prayer at government meetings," USA Today
"State Department Splits with USCIRF on New Religious Freedom Violators," Christianity Today
"Oregon church wins appeal to build new sanctuary," The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
"Religious Liberty Restored for Montana's Disabled Children of Faith," Alliance Defending Freedom

Religion in America
Check out Dr. Kenyn Cureton's feature on Watchmen Pastors called "The Lost Episodes," featuring how religion has had an impact on our Founding Fathers.

"Salvation by Technique," First Things
"How Missionaries Are Changing Medicine," Christianity Today
"Why the Rising Social Awareness in the Church Should Encourage Us," The Gospel Coalition
"Prayer as Politics?," Qideas
""How the West Really Lost God"," The Catholic Thing
"Sticky faith," The Christian Century

Secularism

"For Most Atheists, Atheism is a Lifestyle Choice," American Orthodox Institute
"Want to Talk to Non-Christians? Six Tips from an Atheist," Qideas

International
Israel

"Minister: France in talks with US, Israel to buy drones," YNetNews.com
"The Iranian elections don't matter. Here's what does.," AEIdeas.org
"Israel: Triumph of Resilience," The American Thinker
"NGOs vs. those who serve Israel," CarolineGlick.com

International Economy and Family

"Francis' Address to New Ambassadors," Zenit
"Time to cherish all families of the nation equally," The Irish Times
"President Obama, Bangladesh Has Faced Enough Tragedy, Don't Take Away Jobs, Too," The Heritage Foundation

Religious Persecution

"The Precarious Position of Christians in the Holy Land," First Things
"Nigeria Declares Emergency Rule as Christians Debate Amnesty for Boko Haram Islamists," Christianity Today
"State Dept. Report Says Countries Have Repressed Religious Freedom With Laws," New York Times
"Christianity in the Middle East on Brink of Extinction," Religion Today

The Courts
Constitutional Issues

"Obama Administration Says Universities Must Implement Broad Speech Codes," The FedSoc Blog
"Shutting down corporate speech in name of social justice?," The Tampa Tribune
"Supreme Court to hear public prayer case," WORLD Magazine

Other News of Note

"Catholic politicians and the (apparent) JFK defence," The Iona Institute
"A Bumper Crop of Food Stamps," The Heritage Foundation
"The Effort to Disappear Benghazi," National Review Online

Book reviews

"Divine Rehab," Christianity Today
"Reviewed: Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet by Jesse Norman," The New Statesman
"New Book Details How the Federalist Society Shifted the Legal and Policy Landscape of America," The FedSoc Blog
"The Baby In The Well," The New Yorker
"Courtiers," Claremont Review of Books
"Serving Without Sinking," Challies.com

TONIGHT: FRC Webcast -- "Inhuman: Undercover in America's Late Term Abortion Industry"

alh@frc.org (anna-higgins) — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:00:20 -0500

The gruesome practice of late-term abortion in the United States was brought to the forefront recently in the murder trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell. While Gosnell’s facility has become well-known, it is important to point out that there are many other late-term abortion facilities operating throughout the United States. The horrific practices of these facilities were recently highlighted in a series of undercover videos by Lila Rose of Live Action.

Late-term abortion facilities are aborting children well into the second and third trimesters – subjecting unborn children to violent and painful death. Studies show that unborn children can feel pain as early as 20 weeks gestation. Currently, many states allow late-term abortion procedures despite the evidence of the pain capability of unborn children. The violent nature by which Gosnell killed his infant victims outside the womb would have been legal in many states if it had been carried out before birth.

In order to put an end to these inhumane practices, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) is introducing The Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 1797), which, if passed, will implement a nationwide ban on abortion past 20 weeks gestation.

The Family Research Council is hosting a very important webcast tonight at5:00 p.m.(EDT) to expose these late-term abortion practices. Guests will include Lila Rose of Live Action, Rep. Trent Franks, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Please join us for the webcast. Together we can raise awareness about the dangers the abortion industry poses to women and children and end the grisly practice of late-term abortion.

Update on Murder Prosecution in Tampa, Florida

cmg@frc.org (chris-gacek) — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:57:49 -0500

Earlier today, I posted a comment on the use of the federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act (UVVA) in a Tampa, Florida, case. Since then I have been alerted by Doug Johnson (National Right to Life) to an article he posted that contains a great deal of additional information about the application of the UVVA and the facts of the Welden case. It is worth reading.

It turns out that charges have been brought under the UVVA on two occasions. The first involved a 2010 New Mexico case in which the UVVA-based charge was dropped after Frederick Beach pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge for killing a pregnant woman on an Indian reservation. The second case took place in the military justice system when an Air Force enlisted man, Scott D. Boie, surreptitiously gave his pregnant wife misoprostol. He was convicted of the UVVA-based crime. Boie’s appeal has been rejected, and he is serving is 9 ½-year sentence for the UVVA offense and other crimes.

Apparently, Florida’s fetal homicide law is even worse than I thought (see this NRLC website): its quickening provision defines the term “unborn quick child” to mean a “viable fetus.” Triggering a provision such as that would require a gestational age in the early 20-weeks. Remee Lee’s baby was only six or seven weeks along.

Unborn Victims of Violence Act Used in Tampa

cmg@frc.org (chris-gacek) — Sun, 19 May 2013 06:36:44 -0500

History may have been made last week when federal prosecutors used the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (UVVA) to indict a man who is alleged to have killed his own unborn child. It is quite likely that this is the first use of the UVVA.

The news of this terrible crime spread across the nation after the federal government announced an indictment of John Andrew Welden in Tampa, Florida. Welden tricked his pregnant girlfriend, Remee Lee, into taking a drug, misoprostol (Cytotec^®), which produces abortions in early pregnancy. Lee was six weeks pregnant and refused to have an abortion as Welden had demanded.

Welden’s father is an obstetrician-gynecologist who performed the ultrasound and blood tests that confirmed Lee’s pregnancy. (Welden’s father, apparently, was not involved in the crime.)

After confirmation of the pregnancy, John Andrew Welden told Lee that her blood tests revealed that she had an infection. He gave her a bottle of pills in an orange plastic bottle of the type one receives from a pharmacy. Welden falsified a label somehow to indicate that the bottle contained amoxicillin and that a prescription from Welden’s father called for her to take the medicine three times daily.

In fact, the bottle contained misoprostol, the second drug in the RU-486 abortion regimen. Misoprostol is used primarily to prevent patients who take large quantities of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) from developing ulcers. Very late in pregnancies it has legitimate obstetrical uses that, roughly speaking, have to do with inducing the delivery of a healthy full-term baby. However, early, in pregnancies a pregnant woman who takes misoprostol will begin to have uterine contractions that can kill the baby by causing the uterus to expel its contents.

That is what happened in this case. Lee says she woke up on Easter Sunday in a pool of blood. The staff at a nearby hospital told her that her baby had died. It was quickly apparent to these medical professionals that the drug she had been given was not the antibiotic. Interestingly, Welden had gone so far as to eliminate drug-identifying features from the tablets. It was quickly determined that she had, in fact, been given misoprostol.

I am not sure how the case developed – optimally this matter would be handled by state authorities who would prosecute the matter. Unfortunately, Florida law is archaic when it comes to the protection of the unborn. According to Americans United for Life (see Defending Life 2012), “[u]nder Florida criminal law, the killing of an unborn child after ‘quickening’ (discernible movement in the womb) is defined as manslaughter.” Prior to quickening, killing an unborn baby is not a crime in Florida.

Remee Lee’s baby was only six week’s old gestationally. Typically, quickening occurs from weeks 13 to 16. A manslaughter prosecution would not have been possible in this case. It may be this fact that brought about the federal government’s involvement.

On May 14^th a federal grand jury indictment was unsealed against Welden that contained two counts. Count One charges Welden with tampering with consumer products (18 U.S.C. § 1365(a)) – in this case, the drugs taken by Remee Lee which relied upon a falsified prescriptive drug label and tablets that were defaced. Count Two, relying upon the drug tampering, then proceeds to charge Welden with violations of the federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act (18 U.S.C. § 1841) and the federal murder provision (18 U.S.C. § 1111(a)).

The UVVA is a federal act. Federal jurisdiction in a Florida murder depends on the violation of an underlying federal law. Typically, this will involve interstate commerce, and, in this case, it is tampering with a consumer product. That provision is referenced in the UVVA.

Praise needs to be given to the federal officials involved: Robert E. O’Neill (U.S. Attorney - Middle District of Florida), W. Stephen Muldrow (Assistant, U.S. Attorney), and A. Lee Bentley, III (First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chief, Criminal Division – Tampa).

No cheers for the state of Florida which needs to amend its abortion statute.

See the story from the Tampa Bay Times by Patty Ryan and Will Hobson. Go to this link for a PDF copy of the unsealed indictment.

Tony Perkins on the Mike Huckabee Show

frc-media-office — Sun, 19 May 2013 06:32:20 -0500

Tony Perkins appeared on the 5/17 edition of Gov. Mike Huckabee's radio show to discuss the upcoming vote by the Boy Scouts of America. Listen to the clip here.

Can't afford an abortion? Lie to a friend or family member to get their money or take on credit card debt.

anna-dorminey — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:56:15 -0500

If you don’t work in policy or the pro-life movement, or if you’re not particularly passionate about the issue of abortion, you may never have heard of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions (with the usual exceptions of cases of rape or incest or where a mother’s life is at risk).

Regardless of whether or not you’re familiar with the ins and outs of this federal policy, you probably appreciate the logic behind it. Many of us consider abortion nothing less than taking the life of an innocent person. Not using federal tax dollars to fund it is a no-brainer.

And then there is the National Network of Abortion Funds.

Apart from repealing Hyde, the folks over at NNAF have lots of suggestions for women who cannot afford to procure an abortion. Here are a choice few:

Do I have a credit card? Does a friend or family member have one? (If I have time, can I apply for a new card? Could I request a limit increase, which can often take effect on the next business day? I can put just a portion of the cost on a credit card if my limit isn’t high enough.)
Can I get a line of credit at my bank?
Is there an emergency fund at my church?
Can I use my cable bill money toward my abortion and then ask someone else for help with my cable bill?
Are there people who might not help me cover the cost of an abortion, but would help me cover other costs? Am I comfortable lying to a friend or family member, telling them that I had an unexpectedly high electric bill or gas bill due to heating or A/C costs?
Are there bills that I can pay late or skip this month? Can I talk to the electric company about changing the due date for my bill? (Note that it’s illegal for utilities to shut off the heat source for non-payment during the coldest winter months.)

So: there you have it. Taking on credit card debt, not paying your bills in the knowledge that your utility company may still have to supply you with their service, dipping into the emergency fund at your church (which may or may not strongly oppose abortion), or lying to a friend or family member are all acceptable solutions if you are struggling to pay for an abortion.

P.S. If you have a moment, consider contacting the NNAF’s board members and the organizations that these individuals represent to see if they’re actually comfortable encouraging women to use all these strategies. See the list below:

Sarah Audelo, Senior Manager, Domestic Policy, Advocates for Youth; Washington, D.C.

Veronica Bayetti Flores, Assistant Director, Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program, Hampshire College; Member, New Leadership Networking Initiative; Amherst, MA

Margaret Chapman Pomponio, Executive Director, WV FREE; Charleston, WV

Carol Cohan, Consultant, Women's Emergency Network; Miami, FL

Marlene Gerber Fried, Senior Advisor to the President and Faculty Director of the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program, Hampshire College; Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts; Amherst, MA

D. Lynn Jackson (President), Assistant Professor/Field Coordinator, University of North Texas; Network National Case Manager; Texas Equal Access Fund; Dallas, TX

Karen Law, Executive Director, Pro-Choice Resources; Minneapolis, MN

Shanelle Matthews, Communications Manager, Forward Together; Oakland, CA

Eesha Pandit, Executive Director, Men Stopping Violence; Member, New Leadership Networking Initiative; Atlanta, GA

Sue Steketee (Secretary/Treasurer), Director of Surgical Services and Operations, Planned Parenthood of New Mexico; Abortion Assistance Fund of Planned Parenthood New Mexico; Albuquerque, NM

Adoption--A Beautiful Choice

alh@frc.org (anna-higgins) — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:03:33 -0500

Tomorrow, I will be participating in the Step Forward for Orphans March to bring awareness to the more than 10 million children around the world who live outside a family setting, in an institution, or even on the street. Adoption in the United States is often hindered by delays, bureaucracy, and prohibitive costs. Overseas adoptions are also expensive and filled with seemingly insurmountable barriers. One major benefit for families hoping to adopt is the adoption tax credit. The adoption tax credit “offsets qualified adoption expenses.” Any U.S. taxpayer who adopts an eligible child will qualify for a credit, which is currently a maximum of $12,650.

Another major hurdle for the adoption process is the lack of genuine understanding of adoption in general. In her Washington Post column, “A Mother’s Day Plea to Stop Equating Adoption with Abandonment,” Nina Easton discusses the very serious bias facing birthmothers and the adoption decision in our society. Because adoption is not readily celebrated in our society, birthmothers face misunderstanding and are often stigmatized.Easton reveals some sobering facts about adoption in her discussion. She notes, “Birth mothers in the United States each year number in only the thousands, compared with approximately 1.2 million abortions performed annually… Women bucking the cultural tide generally do not publicize their choice. They are much more willing to admit they have terminated a pregnancy, adoption advocates say, than to say they have placed a live newborn with loving parents.” Easton goes on to say that in order to turn the tide, we must ensure that adoption becomes an “empowering” option for young women in crisis through the knowledge that they are supported and honored by their friends, family and church.

One website, ichooseadoption.org, maintained by the National Council for Adoption, presents a great forum for birthmothers and families to learn more about adoption. The site lays out resources, from contacts with representatives to videos and stories from birthmothers who chose adoption.

In order to provide homes for children who are currently without families and support for women in crisis pregnancy, proponents of the sanctity of life should do all we can to advocate for the beautiful choice of adoption. We need to celebrate adoption and promote policies that make this life-changing and life-affirming option more readily accessible.

"Try to Discourage Her From Seeing the Baby"

robert-morrison — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:09:43 -0500

Pro-abortion groups are reacting to the Gosnell verdict with predictable spin. It’s all the fault of those anti-choice people, they say. If more women had greater access to free abortion, things like Gosnell’s abattoir would never have happened, they claim.

Brenda Pratt Shafer is a nurse who once worked in a facility that does late-term abortions. In 1996, she testified under oath before Congress about what a day is like in one of those well-appointed, well-lighted, clean, approved centers, the kind that are being offered to Americans today as the answer to Kermit Gosnell’s filthy house of horrors.

The abortionist in Nurse Shafer’s story did not want his patient to see what he had done to her unborn child. “Try to discourage her from seeing the baby,” he said.

The what? Didn’t he let his mask slip here? Isn’t he supposed to maintain the fiction that it is just a fetus? A mass of cells? A clump of tissue? Or is it alright to call it a baby after the unborn child’s dead body has been removed from the womb and thrown in a cold metal pan?

The late ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings once reminded us of how you are supposed to talk about such stories. In one of his evening broadcasts, Jenningsdescribed a new advance in pre-natal surgery. Through ultra-sound, it was determined that an unborn child had a condition known as hydrocephaly, water on the brain. Mr. Jennings said the fetus was surgically removed from the mother’s womb. A shunt was placed in the skull of the unborn child, relieving the pressure on that child’s developing brain. The unborn child was replaced in its mother’s womb. And the woman carried the fetus to term.

Fetus--Unborn child--Fetus, it all depends on where this baby is at the specific moment we are talking about him. In the following testimony, Nurse Brenda Shafer takes us inside a late-term abortion center, just like one of those facilities operated and approved by Planned Barrenhood and blessed by President Obama.

Nurse Shafer’s sworn testimony:

...This one particular lady didn't want the abortion. She had this Downs Syndrome baby, she was unmarried, her boyfriend didn't want the baby, and her parents didn't want the baby. She cried the whole three days she was in there. So we did her first to get her over with. We brought her in, prepped her, started an I.V. of Valium to calm her down. We did not use a general anesthesia and knock her out. ...We brought the ultrasound machine in and hooked it up to her stomach.

I could see the baby...

I could see the baby. I could see the heartbeat. And the doctor wanted me to stand right beside him, because he wanted me to see everything there was about partial-birth abortion. So I stood there. He went in, guided by ultrasound. He took a pair of forceps and went in and turned the baby because it wasn't in this position at the time. He found a foot and he pulled the baby's foot down through the birth canal, bringing it down and grabbed another foot, and literally started pulling the baby out, breech position, feet first. And he kept pulling it down, and I'm seeing this baby come pulled out of the mommy, his butt, his chest, and then, he delivered both these arms. And the lady's in stirrups, just like you have a baby or just like you're having an ob/gyn examination. And the baby, the only thing that was supporting the baby was the doctor was holding it in with his two fingers, holding the neck so the head was just inside the mommy.

And the baby was kicking his feet, hanging there, moving his little fingers and his little arms. I couldn't believe -- I don't know what I thought killed it in three days, but he was moving and I kept watching that baby move. And I kept thinking to myself, this isn't happening and I thought I was going to pass out. And I kept telling myself, I'm a professional, I can handle this, you know, this is right, this is supposed to be, and I supposed to handle this, I'm a nurse. He then took a pair of scissors and jammed them into the back of the baby's head. And the baby jerked out, like a startle reflex, like a baby does if you throw him up a little bit and he jumps. And then the baby was real rigid. The doctor then opened up the scissors to make a hole. He took a high powered suction machine with a catheter and stuck it in that hole and suctioned the baby's brains out. And the baby went completely limp.

I've seen that in my mind a thousand or more times...

And I have seen that in my mind a thousand or more times, of that baby, watching the life just drain out of it. And like I said before, I've seen babies die in my hands, I had people die in my hands. But it wasn't anything like seeing that vision of watching this abortion. And I almost threw up all over the floor. I was literally just breathing and saying, "Don't throw up, don't throw up, you're gonna be embarrassed if you do this." So I tried not to.

He pulled the head out, he cut the umbilical cord and threw it in a pan, and delivered the placenta and threw it in the same pan, he covered it up and took it out. Well, this mommy wanted to see her baby. And the doctor told us ahead of time, he said, "Try to discourage her from seeing the baby." He doesn't like that. But she had the right to see it. So they cleaned it up and we cleaned her up, and we walked her out of the operating room, and took her to a room and handed her the baby.

The mother held her dead baby in her arms...

...She held that baby in her arms and she screamed and prayed to God...to forgive her, and for that baby to forgive her, and she held it and rocked it, and told him that she loved him. And I looked in that baby's face, and he had the most angelic perfect face I've ever seen, and I just kept thinking, he's an angel now, he's in heaven. And I couldn't take it. In all the years I've been a nurse, [for the first time] I lost it. And I pardoned myself and excused myself and I ran to the bathroom and I cried and prayed.

...I saw two more that day, about 25 weeks. But I was in shock. I stood there and I knew what was happening but I didn't want to be there. I was walking on a beach in Hawaii somewhere, trying to get myself out of that room. ...The other ones were perfectly healthy mothers with perfectly healthy babies. One was a 40 year old woman who had a 19 year old son and she was getting a divorce so she didn't want the baby. The other was a teenage mom who hid the pregnancy from her parents...

The abortion technique described by Nurse Shafer in the above passages was outlawed by the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act passed by Congress in 2003 and signed by President George W. Bush. That law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007 on a 5-4 vote.

That law was strongly supported by Family Research Council and the vast majority of Americans. Now, the law relies for its enforcement on the administration of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder. The president is required by the Constitution to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” We will see if there are any prosecutions under that law.

When he spoke to Planned Parenthood recently, President Obama did not see the baby. Or any of the 334,000 unborn children these traffickers tell us they killed in 2011. They went unmentioned and unseen in his lavish praise for the group.

Even now--especially now--the abortion forces and their liberal cohorts are trying to discourage all Americans from seeing the baby. What the Gosnell verdict does is to lift the bloody curtain and let us see.

Fox News: Tony Perkins on the Kermit Gosnell trial

frc-media-office — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:15:36 -0500

Yesterday, May 12 2013, Tony Perkins appeared on the Fox News show America's HQ to discuss with host Shannon Bream the Kermit Gosnell trial:

Polls: Life and the Double Standard on Inevitability

nathan-oppman — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:48:59 -0500

A recent poll released by Gallup shows a strong majority of Americans oppose all or most abortions. It’s even more interesting that young people are more likely to oppose abortion in all cases than any other group. Over 40% of Democrats oppose abortion most of the time and 12% oppose it entirely. What does this suggest? Well if we apply the same standard to abortion that applies to marriage then it would suggest that the pro-life position is becoming the position of inevitability. It would suggest that politicians should make sure they are on the right side of history, that the Democratic party is starting to fragment, and that both parties should cater to pro-life beliefs if they want to win over young people. But of course the same standard will not be applied.

There is a lesson to be learned. If one continues to speak the truth people may listen, even if it takes years and even if the media does not report it. So let’s keep up the pro-life momentum and make the end of abortion in America a reality!

May 10, 1940: Walking with Destiny

robert-morrison — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:52:28 -0500

Dateline: Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

Yes, Sir Winston Churchill was here, too. He actually came to see the Falls at least twice, in 1900 as a rising journalist, and again in 1943, when he was Britain’s wartime Prime Minister. On that latter occasion, he was prodded by pesky reporters who wanted to know if he’d ever seen the Falls before and what he thought of them.

“I have seen them before, before you were born,” he ribbed the self-important young journos, “and I see the principle remains the same.”

The reason everyone wanted to know what Churchill thought is because of what happened on this day – May 10, 1940. It was on that day when, despite all odds, Churchill became Prime Minister of an embattled Great Britain.

On this day, too, Adolph Hitler ended the phony war in the West that many had taken to calling a “Sitzkrieg.” Hitler had left Berlin in the early hours of May 10th. He rode over velvet-smooth tracks in his private train, oddly named “Amerika.” He wanted to be there for the jumping off of his powerful army, his Wehrmacht.

Within weeks of this date, France would collapse. The French army, which had borne the brunt of German wrath for four long years in World War I, losing 1.2 million young men, was undermined by a deadly combination of pro-Communist and pro-Nazi extremists in the French polity.

Churchill was widely distrusted at home and abroad, even when he finally became Prime Minister. His constant calls for preparedness in the House of Commons had led many in Britain, in Europe, and even in the U.S. to call him a bloody old war-monger.

Don’t you realize, he pleaded with his countrymen, that being armed, being prepared for war is the best way to avoid war. They would not listen. Instead, men like Joe Kennedy, were far more popular. Kennedy, who would live to see one son become president and two more sons elected to the Senate, cheerfully pleaded guilty to being an appeaser of Adolf Hitler.

Old Churchill certainly was on this date in 1940. He was 65. He had not expected to live past 40. And he had held virtually every important office in British politics. But the top spot – the premiership – had long eluded him.

Still, when he entered the Prime Minister’s office at Number 10 Downing Street, it was as if “a jolt of electricity” had gone through the old edifice. Senior civil servants were seen running down the corridors of Whitehall, where Britain’s government offices are housed. They were scrambling to meet Winston’s demands for Action this Day.

He would memorably write of this day and hour. It seemed to millions around the world that Britain was doomed, that she was being led by an old used-up man.

He proved them all wrong. As President Kennedy would say in making Churchill an honorary American citizen, “he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.”

“I felt as if I were walking with destiny and that all my previous life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.” To his ever-faithful bodyguard, Inspector “Tommy” Thompson, he confessed, “I only pray it’s not too late.”

It wasn’t. Churchill would live to walk over the ruins of the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin, where the man who promised a Thousand-year Reich shot himself after only 12.

When he turned 80, a grateful Parliament voted him 50,000 pounds. He and his family had a wonderful time planning what to do with the money.

The man hated as a bloody warmonger decided to endow a Butterfly Conservancy. My wife and I visited one of these near Niagara Falls today. You cannot imagine a more peaceful place. These beautiful creatures light on your shoulders. They rest on the warm stones beneath your feet. I must take care with my Size 12 boots to avoid harming one of God’s loveliest creations.

Winston eventually turned down the 50,000 pounds. It was enough for him that England remembered him. And that Americans do, too.

He said to the British people: “We are fighting by ourselves alone, but we are not fighting for ourselves alone.” And he was the first to recognize the heroic contributions of the Canadians and other Commonwealth nations to the fight against Nazi tyranny. But they also fought for Americans’ Freedom. And every May 10th, it’s good to remember.

Hey Mr. President, Am I Parent 1 or Parent 2?

cathy-ruse — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:13:19 -0500

Yesterday the Obama Education Department eliminated Mothers and Fathers in official government documents. As a mother, I find that deeply offensive.

I carried my children for 9 months in my womb, I endured the pain (and joy) of birth, I nursed them for many months after they were born, and every morning they jump into my bed screaming, “Mommy!”

But the federal government says I’m Mommy no more.

I am Parent 1.

Or maybe Parent 2.

Kind of like Thing One and Thing Two. But Dr. Seuss was being ironic.

Mr. President, I dare you to tell my daughters I’m not their mother.

The Social Conservative Review: May 9, 2013

kdw@frc.org (krystle-weeks) — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:29:42 -0500

Click here to subscribe to the Social Conservative Review.

Dear Friend,

It's human nature to wish every victory could be final and decisive. For example, when we defeated Nazi Germany, it was a complete win. Clean, neat, done.

The battle for our culture is not like that. We can win heartening pro-life victories at the state level even as legislatures legalize same-sex "marriage." The pregnancy care center movement is growing, even as abortion providers get federal money.

Two steps forward, one step - and sometimes two - back. So why do we keep fighting? Because the lives of the unborn and those of their mothers have value. Because without strong families, we unleash chaos and brokenness. Because without religious liberty, all other liberties are in jeopardy.

"Vindicate the weak and fatherless," commands the God of the Bible. "Do justice to the afflicted and destitute" (Psalm 82:3-4). This is not a recommendation. It is a demand from our Creator and Redeemer. Thank you for helping FRC obey it.

Sincerely,

Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice President
Family Research Council

P.S. Download (at no cost) Dr. Wayne Grudem's valuable new booklet, "Why Christians Should Seek to Influence Government for Good."

Educational Freedom and Reform
Homeschooling

"Texas Senate passes bill to allow home-school students to participate in UIL sports," Dallas Morning News
"New Changes to Military Enlistment for Homeschool Graduates," Home School Legal Defense Association
"How Can I Prepare My Kids for Standardized Testing?," Crosswalk

Legislation and Policy Proposals

"A Nation at Risk" 30 Years Later: The State of American Education," Thomas B. Fordham Institute
"Yes, Experience Matters, but Great Teaching Matters Most," Education Week
"Choice in Schools or Choice in Education?," The Acton Institute

College Debt

"Poll: 41% of College Graduates Underemployed," Breitbart.com
"Duke Raises Student Fees to Pay for Sex Change Surgery," The College Fix
"How Student Debt Affects Women, Minorities," U.S. News and World Report

Government Reform
Regulation

"Privatize almost everything," The Washington Times
"What Has Small Government to do with Conservatism?," Intercollegiate Review
"Is Obama Really Reducing Regulatory Burdens?," The FedSoc Blog

Waste/Fraud/Abuse

"Transparency Delayed, Transparency Denied," The Washington Free Beacon
"Driving toward bankruptcy," The Washington Times
"Entitlements: What Difference Does it Make?," American Thinker

Health Care
Abstinence

"The End of Meaningless Sex," The Public Discourse
"The Good Lessons I Learned From Abstinence Education," The Atlantic

Health care reform: Political and Legislative efforts

"Laying bare your finances to apply for health care," Associated Press
"Would Congress have the nerve to exempt itself from ObamaCare?," The Galen Institute
"The Medicaid-Expansion Distraction," National Review Online
"Streamlined Obamacare Application Leaves Program Open To Insurance Fraud," Forbes
"Unravel Obamacare and You Get a Train Wreck," The Fiscal Times
"What Health Insurance Doesn't Do," New York Times
"The Depressing Future of American Health Care," Reason.com

Homosexuality

"Is Gay Marriage a Moral Issue or a Civil Liberties Issue?," Charisma Magazine
"Archbishop Cordileone states case against gay marriage," USA Today
"Letter to Catholics on the Approval of "Same-Sex Marriage" in RI," The Diocese of Providence
"ESPN's Chris Broussard sparks uproar with Jason Collins remarks," The Los Angeles Times
"Broussard, Bigotry, and the NBA," Denny Burk
"Update: Columbus Diocese Remains Resolute, Lesbian Teacher Basks in Spotlight," Catholic Vote

Human Life and Bioethics
Abortion

"Plan B and the Demise of Parental Rights," Family Research Council
"The President, Planned Parenthood, and "Quality Health Care"," The Public Discourse
"So you think Kermit Gosnell is a one-off?," Denny Burk
"WashPost Actually Covers LiveAction Sting Video Where Abortionist Admits He'd Let Baby Die on Table," NewsBusters
"The Right to a Dead Baby," CatholicVote
"Poll: 55% of Americans Don't Know Planned Parenthood Does Abortions," LifeNews.com
"U.S. to Defend Age Limits on Morning-After Pill Sales," New York Times
"Whispers of Doom," Touchstone Magazine
"The Coercive Freedom of Choice," First Things
"Revisit the Born-Alive Act," The Weekly Standard
"The Gosnell Case and My Heart For Tiny Babies," Christianity Today
"Obama admin. surrenders in abortion pill mandate case," Alliance Defending Freedom
"Abortion--The Looming Crisis in the Black Community (Research)," The Minority Republican
"President Obama and the Primitivism of Planned Parenthood," Crisis Magazine

Bioethics and Biotechnology

"Multiple Sclerosis Management Revolutionized With New Treatments: Cure Soon?," iTech Post
"Bioethics Hates the Light," National Review Online
"Judges, Journalists, and Activists Re-Inventing Science," Turtle Bay and Beyond
"Made to Order Embryo Commodities Market," Center for Bioethics and Culture

Euthanasia and End of Life Issues

"Total Brain Death: Valid Criterion of Death," The Public Discourse
"Poor NHS Care Drives Assisted Suicide Support," National Review Online

Stem Cell Research
To read about the latest advances in ethical adult stem cell research, keep up with leading-edge reports from FRC's Dr. David Prentice, click here.

"2-year-old girl gets windpipe made from stem cells," Associated Press
"Adult Cells Transformed Into Early-Stage Nerve Cells, Bypassing the Pluripotent Stem Cell Stage," Science Daily
"April Legislation Promotes Life in Kansas," National Catholic Register
"Brownback: Divert bioscience money to stem cell center," Kansas City Business Journal

Human Trafficking

"Human trafficking is happening right here," Rare
"Technology to Fight Modern Slavery," The Huffington Post
"Pols push to end child sex trafficking," Politico
"The Slave Next Door," The Washington Free Beacon
"Communist Vietnam -- Human Trafficker Extraordinaire," American Thinker
"Hearing: Local and Private Sector Initiatives to Combat International Human Trafficking," House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Marriage and Family
Adoption

"The Good Heart of the Adoption Movement," Christianity Today
"Remember the Infertile on Mother's Day," Crosswalk
"Paul Ryan Regrets Voting for Gay Adoption Ban," The Christian Post

Family Economics

"Increasing Distortions and Feeding Leviathan: The Internet Sales Tax," The American
"America's entrepreneurial culture may be dying," AEIdeas.org
"Millennials: A Generation With Unrealistic Expectations," The Pacific Standard
"Meeting Needs In Unexpected Places," Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics
"The Idled Young Americans," New York Times

Family Structure

"Relationship Contracts Growing In Popularity With Married And Unmarried Couples," CBS New York
"Emotional Manipulators," No Greater Joy
"The Polygamy Slippery Slope," The Christian Post
"Our Open Marriage," The Hipster Conservative
"Flesh of My Flesh: Responding to Anthony Esolen on the Boy Scouts," Mere Orthodoxy
"Tony Campolo's 'Compromise' on Marriage," Touchstone Magazine
"What Forgiveness Isn't," Recovering Grace
"Marriage: You've Got Questions, We've Got Answers," Alliance Defending Freedom
"The Sex Lives of Unmarried Evangelicals," Christianity Today
"Do You Want to Be a Burden to Your Children?," Moore to the Point
"Something Rotten in the Boy Scouts," Crisis Magazine
"Baby, You're the Greatest," National Review Online

Media
Pornography

"8 Reasons You Don't Want to Look at Pornography," Catholic Vote
"Parents' group fights FCC bid to loosen indecency rules," PornHarms

Internet

"Me, myself, and my selfie," WORLD Magazine
"When We Hate What We Love," Challies.com
"Facebook Rhetoric," First Things

Religion and Public Policy
Religious Liberty

"Everywhere but in foxholes," The Washington Times
"Pentagon Defends Unconstitutional Policy Against Soldiers Sharing Faith," Family Research Council
"A Response to "Why Tolerate Religion?"," Family Research Council
"Religious Freedom Around the World," The Acton Institute
"Prayer - It's Needed, It's Right And It's Legal!," Alliance Defending Freedom
"Muslims, Monasteries, Jews, Sikhs, and Scholars Urge Supreme Court to Hear Landmark Religious Liberty Appeal," The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
"The New Era of Religious Liberty," The Catholic Thing
"Michigan City Apologizes to Christian Missionaries Arrested in 2010 at Arab Festival," The Christian Post

Religion in America
Check out Dr. Kenyn Cureton's feature on Watchmen Pastors called "The Lost Episodes," featuring how religion has had an impact on our Founding Fathers.

"The rest of the story," WORLD Magazine
"How do Markets Handle Sin and Human Nature?," Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics
"Proud vs. Broken People," FeedingOnChrist
"Viewpoint: In the War Over Christianity, Orthodoxy Is Winning," Time
"When Christians become a 'hated minority'," CNN
"High School Track Team Disqualified for Pointing to God," Ricochet

Secularism

"Ties that bind," The Economist
"Why I Don't Believe in Atheism," Crosswalk

International
Israel

"An Irrelevant Middle East," National Review Online
"Change: The Establishment Cools Toward Obama's Middle East Policy," Via Meadia
"The FAQs: Red Lines, Israeli Airstrikes, and Civil War in Syria," The Gospel Coalition

International Economy and Family

"Spain Is Beyond Doomed: The 2 Scariest Unemployment Charts Ever," The Atlantic
"Broken transmission," The Economist
"Pocketing the keys to prosperity," The Washington Times
"The British Evasion," City Journal

Religious Persecution

"Iran moves American Christian into solitary confinement over prayer protest," Fox News
"Christian Growth and Persecution in China," Juicy Ecumenism

The Courts
Constitutional Issues

"Proposition 8 and Discrimination: Marriage on Trial at the Supreme Court," The Public Discourse
"The Supreme Court vs. Freedom of Information," Reason.com
"Justice Scalia Echoes Lord Acton's Warning on Corrupting Power," The Acton Institute

Other News of Note

"American Carriers Victim of Government Cronyism," Townhall.com
"Who's to blame for the GOP's Golden failure?," Campaigns and Elections
"Capitalism and Conservatism," First Things
"Life, Like Baseball, Demands Order," Crisis Magazine

Book reviews

""The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor" reviewed by Ralph C. Wood," Touchstone Magazine
"Adoption Horror Stories Aren't the Whole Story," Christianity Today
"Blood Work," Challies.com
"Upon Further Review: A CRB Discussion of Theodore Roosevelt," Claremont Review of Books
"Humble Orthodoxy," The Gospel Coalition
"Free Speech on Campus and the Spirit of Louis Brandeis," The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

The Business of Planned Parenthood

alh@frc.org (anna-higgins) — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:24:49 -0500

The public perception of Planned Parenthood tends to be favorable, even among those who identify themselves as pro-life. However, when confronted with the actual practices of the $1.5 billion “non-profit,” those favorable opinions turn sour, for good reason.

Revealing the truth about the practices of Planned Parenthood is the goal of a new campaign by Alliance Defending Freedom. The campaign, “Pretty Ugly, Planned Parenthood’s deception of the American Public,” is focused around four little-known truths about Planned Parenthood: that they 1) promote sexual promiscuity to children to create a customer; 2) promote abortion and enforce abortion quotas to drive funding; 3) keep health standards and overhead low, putting women at risk, and 4) they commit fraud by wasting and abusing taxpayer dollars.

Planned Parenthood is a business. They promote sexual promiscuity through advertisements and sex education curriculum to create a customer at a young age, which ensures financial stability and growth down the line. As sexual activity among the young rises, they will need the services of Planned Parenthood even more – from STD testing and eventually abortion. Abortion is big business, especially at Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. Abortion, which costs $450/abortion (for first trimester abortion), makes up about half of Planned Parenthood’s revenue. As of 2013, every Planned Parenthood affiliate is required to provide abortions and is given a required quota to fulfill.

Because it is a business, Planned Parenthood is very much focused on the bottom line. Implementing minimum health and safety standards is not always a priority because compliance can be costly. Across the nation, Planned Parenthood affiliates have been cited for various health and safety violations. Additionally, there is evidence that Planned Parenthood, which received $542 million from the federal government last year, has manipulated its records, increasing government reimbursements.

The truth about Planned Parenthood isn’t pretty – in fact, it’s pretty ugly. They prey on the circumstances of vulnerable women and children to make a profit. Its time that Planned Parenthood is exposed for what they really are. Please visit www.ItsPrettyUgly.com to learn more and share the truth with others.