In This Issue...
From Our Director...
BCLouisiana has had remarkable success passing pro-life legislation over the past few years at the Capitol in Baton Rouge.  This year, however, Planned Parenthood is celebrating an apparent victory. Remarkably, they are happy that sex-selective abortions can continue in Louisiana.

HB 701, the legislation aimed at preventing sex-selective abortion, is stalled in the Louisiana Senate.  A series of unfortunate events, from a suspect committee placement to a senator's emergency medical appointment, has placed us in this position.  Sadly, if this legislation fails, sex-selective abortion could occur in Louisiana over the next 12 months. 

It is amazing that people can celebrate when legislation to protect unborn baby girls from abortion is stopped. Can't we all agree to prevent this repugnant act?

We are still working to see if something can be done to enact this important legislation. We encourage you to contact your State Senator today and ask them to take action on your behalf to put HB 701 into law.

Read the article at the bottom right of this newsletter for more on HB 701 in the Louisiana Senate.

For a Pro-Life Louisiana,   
Benjamin Clapper
Down Syndrome Discussions

Down Syndrome and

the Threat of Abortion

Louisiana Right to Life will host two meetings in June with Mark Bradford, executive director of the LeJeune Foundation, who will discuss Down syndrome, prenatal diagnosis and the threat of abortion.  You are welcome to attend!

The number of those who choose abortion after a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome is far too high, and it should be zero. The fact is all a prenatal diagnosis provides is a first impression of who a child could be. Choosing to end the life of a child based upon a first impression is a most horrible and violent form of discrimination. Bradford will discuss this issue, and we will also discuss expanding efforts of the Down Syndrome Associations of Louisiana as we highlight the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July.

New Orleans Meeting
Thursday, June 11  5-6 p.m.
St. Michael's School
1522 Chippewa St.

Lafayette Meeting
Friday, June 12, at noon
Abacus Restaurant
520 W. Pinhook Road

For more information on either meeting, contact Ryan Verret at 337.257.3029 or rverret@prolifelouisiana.org.
'Be the Voice' Youth Night

'Be the Voice' Youth Night at Convention

An awesome youth night is planned at the National Right to Life Convention in New Orleans this summer.

The "Be the Voice" Pro-Life Youth and College Night is July 10 at the Marriott Hotel on Canal Street. Tickets are $10 each and include dinner.

"Be the Voice" will feature the powerful testimony of Melissa Ohden, a nationally known pro-life speaker who survived an abortion herself, and the exciting music of  Greg&Lizzy.

You can buy tickets online at www.BeTheVoiceNight.com. Youth ministers, please contact Louisiana Right to Life at 504.835.6520 if you would like to register a large group of students.

Registration Open for JLI
Teens: You Don't Want
to Miss this Summer's JLI

There are still spots available for teens who want to attend this summer's Joshua Leadership Institute.

 

We had some great pro-life Camp Joshua weekends this spring, training high schoolers to be student leaders, and now we're preparing for our fun, intensive and life changing leadership institute next month.

 

Joshua Leadership Institute will be held June 28-July 2 in Baton Rouge.

 

Click here to find out
more and to register!
 

Pro-Life News Trending

Pro-Life Related Stories Trending Around the U.S.

(click on blue to read more)

 

* A new Gallup poll finds a majority of Americans oppose all or most abortions even though some Americans who technically take a pro-life position opposing abortion wrongly think they are "pro-choice" on abortion.

* The Supreme Court faces a decision soon on whether to dive back into the contentious issue of abortion and consider allowing states to enforce new, stricter laws, including one from Mississippi that would close that state's only licensed abortion clinic. Since 2010, Republican-led states have passed an array of abortion-related laws. Some limit the time period during which women may obtain an abortion. Others set new restrictions for clinics, doctors or the drugs that induce early abortions. 

A federal appeals court has struck down a pro-life law in Idaho that bans abortions after 20 weeks - just weeks after the House of Representatives passed a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks because unborn babies feel intense pain in abortions.

 

* As state legislators across America grapple with proposed laws on euthanasia, South Dakota State Rep. Steve Hickey (R-Sioux Falls) - facing a terminal illness himself - has no qualms sharing exactly where he stands on the issue. Rep. Hickey sent a letter in reply to a constituent's question on "death with dignity" and felt strongly enough to tweet it to his followers.

 

* A new analysis indicates the millions of abortions that have taken place since the Supreme Court ushered in an era of unlimited abortions via Roe v. Wade have killed more Americans than were alive in the entire country in 1800.

 

* The Kansas House has passed a modest tweak to an abortion law insuring that abortion pills will not be accessed by a webcam without a licensed Kansas physician being on site. Senate Sub for HB 2228 passed the House bill 109-2 with one "pass" and 13 members absent, mirroring the Senate's 39-0 support last week. It is expected to be signed without delay by Gov. Brownback and will go into effect upon publication.

 

* A law prohibiting abortions 20 weeks after conception took effect last week in West Virginia, despite Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin twice vetoing the ban over concerns that a court could strike it down. Amid the Democratic governor's worries over constitutionality, the state's Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has vowed to defend the ban against potential legal action.

 

* A bill that violates the free speech rights of privately-funded pro-life pregnancy centers in the state of California by forcing them to advertise and promote abortion has now passed the state Assembly and advances to the Senate.


Post Abortive, Former Abortion Clinic Worker Now Speaks for Life
Green Will Share Her Story at Convention  

 

By Andrew Bair, www.LifeNews.com
Excerpts of this Interview Reprinted with Permission

 

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL STORY 

 

Jewels Green is a post-abortive mother of three who worked in an abortion clinic before becoming pro-life. She will share her powerful story this year at the 2015 National Right to Life Convention July 9-11 in New Orleans.

 

JEWELS GREEN

Green discusses her journey and the message she would share with others who have experienced the pain of abortion and with those still working in the abortion industry.

 

Q: Growing up, did you hold any firm views on the abortion issue?

 

A: I was raised in a pro-choice household, so from when I was old enough to understand the word "abortion" I was pro-choice by default.

 

Q: In an interview with Live Action News, you described yourself at the time you became pregnant as a "17-year-old drug-using high school dropout."

 

A: This is true.

 

Q: Could you describe the factors that came into play that led you to the abortion center?

 

A: Well, as soon as I found out I was pregnant I stopped using drugs, started reading about pregnancy and had intended to have the baby. I'd even scheduled a pre-natal appointment. Intense pressure from others led me to allow myself to be talked into going to the abortion center. My first appointment I couldn't go through it. I ran out before it was time to disrobe. My resolve crumbled, and I returned to the center two days later and had an abortion.

 

Q: Did you feel that you were fully informed by abortion clinic staff about the options available to you and the abortion procedure itself?

 

A: I have no recollection of any other options being discussed, but I do remember the abortion procedure being described. Later, when I worked in an abortion facility and counseled women before their abortions, alternatives to abortion were never discussed. Only when a woman called and scheduled a separate appointment specifically for "options counseling" would parenting and adoption be discussed. Even then, counselors were not trained in describing different types of adoption (closed, open-with different options of levels of contact, kinship care, etc.) The best I could do at the time was scribble a phone number on a Post-It note and wish her luck. The same holds for parenting options (single or married parenting, medical assistance, WIC). I would hand her a phone number and send her on her way.

 

Q: You've also stated, "Everyone wanted me to get an abortion... except me." What, if anything, could a pro-life person have done in that situation to help you? How can the pro-life movement more effectively reach out to pregnant women facing difficult circumstances?

 

A: I didn't know anyone who was pro-life at the time. Or, maybe I did but didn't know it. I think that we can be more effective if we are pro-life with everyone - not just in a debate or when trying to reach out to vulnerable mothers - but be vocally pro-life in all aspects of our lives. Our family, friends, co-workers and classmates should all know that we are pro-life on abortion. Wear a pro-life T-shirt, slap a pro-life bumper sticker on your car, strike up a conversation with someone who might not already know your stance. My theory is that if we are open with our beliefs to the point of actually advertising them, then someone facing a problem pregnancy in the future knows who she can turn to for support.

 

Q: What happened after the abortion?

 

A: I immediately regretted it. After all, I'd planned on keeping my baby, and only after prolonged intense pressure did I succumb to the plan others dictated for me. I slid into a clinical depression, an emotional black hole of regret, remorse, grief and guilt. A few weeks after my abortion I attempted suicide.

 

Q: Later, you became a pretty ardent pro-choice activist. You've described taking part in pro-choice marches, lobbying Congress and then ultimately working in an abortion facility. What was the driving motivation behind your activism?

 

A: In hindsight, I think I was trying to justify and rationalize my role in my own abortion. I surrounded myself with people who thought abortion was a legitimate (even laudable) decision in the hopes that someday I might believe that, too. Deep down, I never really did.

 

Q: What would pro-life people be most surprised to know about what takes place inside an abortion facility?

 

A: I think both pro-life and pro-choice people would be surprised by what takes place inside an abortion facility. When I worked there, my friends who were pro-choice were always surprised to hear how busy and crowded the center was on the four days a week abortions were performed. There was (and in some ways still is) this notion that abortion is rare. Even staff members would be shocked to see women coming in for their second, third, fourth, fifth abortion. There was a sense that one "oops" was understandable, but after that even the workers began to pass judgment.

 

Pro-life people might be surprised to know just how deep the deception goes - I mean, everyone working there truly believed we were doing right by the women who came in for abortions. We thought they would surely suffer or die without us. It wasn't until years later that I learned this was a lie.

 

Q: Was there a particular moment that made you change your position?

 

A: My "Ah-HA" moment came when I learned of a surrogate mother who was offered payment of her contract in full to abort the child she was carrying when genetic testing determined the baby would be born with Down syndrome. The biological parents must have been so dedicated to the idea of ideal offspring to consider paying tens of thousands of dollars to eliminate their innocently "imperfect" child, and to my utter horror the surrogate agreed to the abortion - and the payout. It was a like the light bulb finally switched ON for me.

 

This was wrong. It was fundamentally wrong to treat children as commodities to be created, bought, sold and discarded at will or for "quality control." Once I accepted that this abortion was wrong, intellectual honesty and logical consistency brought me to the realization that all abortions are wrong.

 

*** 

Convention
REDUCED EARLY REGISTRATION CONVENTION AND HOTEL RATES EXPIRE SOON! 


Sex-Selective Abortion Ban Bill Stalls in Senate Committee 
Time is Running Out on This Year's Session 
HB 701, the legislation aimed at preventing sex-selective abortion in Louisiana, stalled by a 2-2 vote last week in the State Senate Judiciary B Committee. Senators J.P. Morrell and Karen Carter Peterson voted against sending the bill to the full Senate, and Senators Norby Chabert and Eric Lafleur voted in favor of the action. Senators Ronnie Johns, Gary Smith and Gregory Tarver were not present at the committee meeting, though each was present on the Senate floor later in the day.  Senator Johns was not present due to a medical emergency.  There has been no reason given to why neither Senators Smith or Tarver missed the vote. 

  

The vote left the fate of the bill, approved overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives, in limbo. Attempts to bring the bill before the full Senate are ongoing, but time is running out as only 10 days remain in the 2015 Legislative Session. 

 

"This was the culmination of a week where HB 701, and the pro-life cause, were hung out to dry in the Louisiana Senate," said Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life. "Instead of having the bill placed in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, as is customary, the legislation was placed in a committee led by pro-abortion Sen. J.P. Morrell. While there are civil penalties on HB 701, many pro-life bills with various forms of penalties have been heard in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee before.

 

"At the beginning of the committee hearing Rep. (Lenar) Whitney attempted to offer important amendments that would have fixed concerns raised by many legislators. Chairman Morrell immediately objected, prior to even letting Rep. Whitney finish her presentation of the amendments. Chairman Morrell falsely accused Rep. Whitney of proposing the amendment simply to get the bill moved to another committee. He even called it 'venue shopping.'"

 

Clapper said Morrell offered to author a resolution that would investigate the frequency of sex-selective abortions in Louisiana to determine if future legislation to ban the practice is necessary.  

 

"While we support the general concept of the resolution, we believe we need to pass legislation now to make sure sex-selective abortions are not happening in Louisiana. We should not wait until we realize we have a problem in order to act to solve it. If sex-selective abortion is wrong for Louisiana, we must pass HB 701 now to make sure that not even one baby girl or baby boy is killed from this violent form of gender discrimination."

 

Clapper said the three Senators who missed the committee meeting generally vote pro-life, and if one of them had been present he believes the bill would have been moved to the full Senate for a vote.


HB 701, authored by Whitney, would accomplish two main tasks that are in the best interest of the people of Louisiana if approved.

 

First, it protects babies from sex-selective abortion, which occurs most often when abortion is being performed because the baby is a girl instead of a boy. Second, HB 701 requires that abortion physicians make their best efforts in accord with standard of care medical practices to determine the sex of the baby and inform the woman if the sex can be determined.

 

The Louisiana Right to Life team is currently working to determine if HB 701 can be resurrected this session. 

Upcoming Events 
June 28 - July 2: Joshua Leadership Institute 

July 9-11: National Right to Life Convention, NOLA 

Sept. 23: 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign Begins 

Oct. 24: Louisiana Elections (Governor, Legislature, etc)

Nov. 1: 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign Closes 

Nov. 21: Louisiana Run-Off Elections 

Jan. 23, 2016: Louisiana Life March North & South 

 
Louisiana Right to Life | Lighting the Way to a Pro-Life Louisiana Since 1970
www.ProLifeLouisiana.org | 1.866.463.5433 | info@prolifelouisiana.org

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