IN THIS ISSUE...
From Our Director
I am writing this from 39,000 ft. as my flight is somewhere over Texas. I am headed to L.A. for I Lived on Parker Avenue's showing in the Docuslate Film Fest. We are looking forward to a positive showing on Saturday!

We are relieved to hear that Sen. Kennedy will vote in favor of Kyle Duncan for the 5th Circuit. Thanks to the thousands of pro-lifers  who took the time to contact Sen. Kennedy. Your action was critical!
  
For a Pro-Life Louisiana,
Benjamin Clapper
CENLA Breakfast
Dr. David Hankins and Benjamin Clapper

Hankins Honored at Prayer Breakfast  
 
Dr. David Hankins, executive director of Louisiana Baptists, received the "In Service of Life" Award at the recent Cenla Pro-Life Prayer Breakfast in Pineville.

LARTL Executive Director Benjamin Clapper, who presented the award, said Hankins and the state's Baptist association was honored for their commitment to life and the new Cenla Pregnancy Center, which officially opens this month.

The association offered CPC a building near its state headquarters in Alexandria for the remarkable deal of $1
a month rent, even though the building would normally rent for
$7,000 a month!
PP Funding
Appelate Court Tie  Vote Lets PP Keep Medicaid Funding  
 
On a tie vote of 7-7, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused Tuesday to reconsider a ruling that lets Planned Parenthood facilities in the state continue to receive Medicaid funding. The 5th Circuit is currently short three judges.
Proudly Pro-Life
John Smestad Jr. to
Be Honored at Proudly
Pro-Life Dinner

New Orleans Right to Life will host the 19th annual Proudly Pro-Life Dinner on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018, at Chateau Country Club in Kenner. 
 
John Smestad Jr.
This year's recipients of the Proudly Pro-Life Award is John Smestad Jr., former Executive Director of the Archdiocesan CYO / Youth and Young Adult Ministry Office and current Director of Pastoral Planning for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. 
 
Tickets are $100 per person. Tables of 10 are available.

  CLICK HERE to purchase tickets online!! 
Year-End Gift
Will You Help Us Further Our Pro-Life Efforts in 2018? 

2017 is coming to a close soon, but you still have plenty of time to make your 2017 year-end gift. Act now and take full advantage of tax-deductible charitable giving to Louisiana Right to Life.

Your support is very important to us. Whether it's $5 or $5,000, your gift matters. We could not defend life in Louisiana without your support! 
 
Remember, charitable gifts must be received or postmarked by Dec. 31 in order to be considered a 2017 gift.

 CLICK HERE TO GIVE 
Shop With Us!
Do Your Christmas
Shopping With Us!

Looking for that perfect Christmas gift for someone special? Look to us! You can purchase a 2018 Celebrate Life wall calendar, pro-life merchandise or a Luminary membership, or you can make a donation in someone's honor. All money raised goes toward defending life in the Louisiana through education, legislation, activism and service.
If You Shop Online...
Shop and Support Louisiana Right to Life 

If you shop on Amazon you can support Louisiana Right to Life, at no extra cost to you! Be sure to start your shopping at Smile.Amazon.com for your purchase to count.

Click Here
to Get Started! 
Kennedy to Support Duncan

Duncan Testifies In D.C.
Vote Expected In Coming Weeks

Kyle Duncan, who has been nominated by President Trump to fill a vacancy on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, gracefully testified before and was questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. The committee is expected to vote on Duncan's nomination in the coming weeks.

Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy has announced his intention to vote in favor of Duncan's confirmation, likely removing the only impediment to his  eventual confirmation.  
 
Click Here to watch Duncan's opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A Downward Trend!
Abortion Numbers Continue on a Downward Trend
 
The number of abortions performed in the U.S. continues to decline, according to the 2014 "Abortion Surveillance Report" recently released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Relying on reports from state health departments, the CDC reported 652,639 abortions for 2014, down 2% from the 2013 total of 664,435 and nearly 12% from the 2012 total of 730,322. While it provides a snapshot into the downward trend in abortions, this figure does not provide a complete picture of abortion in the U.S. as it does not include abortion data from California, the nation's most populous state, New Hampshire and Maryland.

In addition to the decline in the raw numbers of abortions, the CDC finds that both the abortion rate, (the number of abortions for every 1,000 women of child-bearing age) and the abortion ratio (the number of abortions per 1,000 live births) have declined. In the states included in the report, the CDC found an abortion rate of 12.1 abortions for every 1,000 women aged 15-44. The CDC found a ratio of 186 abortions per 1,000 live births. 

More than two-thirds (67%) of abortions were performed at 8 or fewer weeks gestation. The advent of chemical abortions has meant that more and more abortions are performed at earlier gestations. Thus it is not surprising that just over four in 10 (41.1%) were actually performed at 6 weeks or less in 2014. CDC data shows that the number of abortions at 6 weeks or less has risen steadily since 2005.
 
About a quarter (24.5%) of the abortions occurred between 9 and 13 weeks. The remaining 8.5% were performed in the 2nd trimester or later: 3.3% at 14-15 weeks, 2% at 16-17 weeks, 1.9% at 18-20 weeks, and 1.3% at or beyond 21 weeks.
 
The CDC shows that 76% of all abortions continue to be surgical abortions (67.4% first trimester, 8.6% at second or third trimester). Most of the rest of the abortions (22.6%) were1st trimester "medical" (chemical) abortions. An additional 1.5% were chemical procedures performed at 8 weeks or more.
 
"Though data shows first trimester surgical abortions still dominate the industry, it also shows abortions being performed earlier and earlier, with more and more using chemical rather than surgical methods," said said Randall K. O'Bannon, Ph.D., National Right to Life director of education and research.
 
For more details, click here.  
Louisiana Life Marches
 
Make Plans Now to March for Life in Louisiana! 
 
Will you march with us in 2018 and take a stand for life? There will be three Louisiana Life March events in Louisiana in 2018, and one is sure to be close to you.
Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018 
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018
Louisiana Life March North
Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018
Louisiana Life March CENLA 
Due to ongoing construction in a number of areas of downtown Baton Rouge, the Life March South will have a new route this year. The event will begin in the grassy area outside the State Capitol near Spanish Town Road and N. 4th Street at 10 a.m., then proceed south on N. 4th Street, west on North Boulevard, and south on River Road to the Levee Green near the U.S.S. Kidd. A formal program will be held at the Levee Stage, beginning approximately at 11 a.m.  
The Louisiana Life March North will follow the same route as in previous years, beginning at 10 a.m. at Bossier City's Boardwalk and proceeding across the Texas Street Bridge to Shreveport's Festival Plaza, where a program will be held.
The Louisiana Life March CENLA will begin on the grounds of Louisiana College in Pineville at 10 a.m. The 1.6-mile march will go down Main Street toward the Jackson Street Bridge, cross the bridge and conclude at the amphitheater on the Alexandria side of the Red River, where a program will be held.
The 2018 Life March theme is "Every Life Deserves a Lifetime." All marches begin at 10 a.m. and are scheduled to end at noon. Speakers will be announced at a later date.
 
***
 
 
Life March T-shirts are now available! 
Shirts come in adult sizes only, small to XXL. Cost is $10 each. 
 
Upcoming Events
Jan. 20, 2018:
Life March South
Jan. 21, 2018:
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday 
Jan. 27, 2018:
Life March North
Feb. 3, 2018:
Life March Central
Feb. 23-25, 2018
PULSE Immersion Weekend BR
March 23-25 
PULSE Immersion Weekend Covington 
April 17, 2018:
Louisiana Right to Life
ProLifeLouisiana.org     1.866.463.5433    @LARightToLife

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