LifeNet

Students for Life of America (SFLA) outside the Supreme Court as the decision is announced

SFLA is a great organization and Kristan Hawkins is a great leader.

 

And here's another brief video.

Brian Duggan, husband of Helen Alvare

Terribly, terribly sad. We just received this news of his sudden death last month. Many people will know who Helen Alvare is, and her decades of fine work.

Brian Joseph Duggan, 64, died suddenly May 3 of a ruptured aneurysm. Brian, executive director of the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, was married to Helen Alvaré, with whom he had three beloved children: Catherine, Julian and Robert Paul.

For the last chapter of his career, he worked for various pro-life organizations, spending the last five years as the creative, adroit, and indefatigable executive director of the organization launched by the U.S. Catholic bishops to enable grassroots Catholics to advocate federally for pro-life laws.

The organization mentioned is Human Life Action

Fanatic proabortion group "Ruth Sent Us" going after Amy Coney Barrett's seven children

See article below. If you know of any other news outlets covering this, please send us a link in the comments section. The picture is from an ad that was run by supporters during her senate confirmation hearings.

The group tweeted an infographic with the name of Barrett’s church. It also identified the school that Barrett’s children attend, and encouraged protesters to “voice your anger” by demonstrating there.

Ruth Sent Us has come under widespread criticism for its calls for non-stop protests against the Court’s six conservative justices. After Politico published a draft of a majority opinion in the Dobbs case, written by Justice Samuel Alito, which would overturn the controversial 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion across the United States, the group published the home addresses of all six justices, while calling for protests at these sites.

“Our 6-3 extremist Supreme Court routinely issues rulings that hurt women, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights. We must rise up to force accountability using a diversity of tactics,” the group wrote at the time. Critics accused the group of jeopardizing the safety of the justices and their families. Ruth Sent Us was later permanently banned by social media platform TikTok for refusing to take down posts with this information, though they remain active on Twitter, Facebook, and other media.

Note on TikTok "permanent banning".  TikTok reinstated them two days later.

Cardinal Dolan WSJ column: "Abortion, Guns and the ‘Throwaway Culture’ "

This was published on the op ed page of the Wall Street Journal yesterday. We are sure the Cardinal won't mind us printing the entire commentary.

Abortion, Guns and the ‘Throwaway Culture’ Democrats and Republicans reject policies that would fortify what St. John Paul II referred to as a ‘culture of life.’

Like so many others, I am heartbroken by the senseless gun violence that has taken the lives of innocent victims in recent weeks. The loss is immeasurable. Americans of all political stripes are grieving and crying out to God to ask when our beloved nation will restore its respect for human life.

Unfortunately, our political system appears to be broken, as Republicans and Democrats operate in silos and see more political benefit in intransigence than consensus. The result is that both parties reject policies that would fortify what St. John Paul II referred to as a culture of life and instead embrace what Pope Francis has called a throwaway culture that extends even to human beings.

Among Republicans, we see it in the refusal to consider even widely popular proposals that would help to increase gun safety. Among Democrats, we see it in the frantic drive to expand abortion, even in states where it would be impossible to expand it further.

Take my state, New York. Lawmakers in Albany recently scurried to pass a package of bills designed to increase the practice of abortion. These proposals extended virtually no support to scared and overwhelmed pregnant women who might seek alternatives to abortion, if only they knew they existed. Never mind that, though. With the Supreme Court poised to render a decision that could allow states to protect helpless human lives in the womb, New York lawmakers saw a political opportunity. They have stampeded to make the state an abortion “sanctuary.” They’ve passed measures to shield abortionists from liability and to encourage women from other states to come here to terminate the lives of their children. Gov. Kathy Hochul has unilaterally allocated millions of taxpayer dollars to abortion facilities to welcome out-of-state women.

What’s next? Will they add abortion clinics to the “I Love NY” tourism guide, alongside craft breweries and weekend getaway destinations? Would anyone be surprised if they did?

It gets worse. In addition to these new laws encouraging abortion, the Legislature also passed a measure designed to eliminate pro-life options. That bill, now awaiting the governor’s signature, would require the state health commissioner to “study” pro-life pregnancy centers, which exist to give women in crisis pregnancies a real alternative to abortion. The goal is to intimidate these wonderful organizations into shutting down.

This is a complete rejection of the “choice” that elected representatives say they support. Where is the choice for the frightened young pregnant mom, usually African-American or Latina, who desperately wants to keep her baby but is having trouble paying her rent, putting food on the table, and filling her gas tank? Where is her sanctuary? Will the only answer for her be to destroy her offspring? And where is the sanctuary for the helpless baby in her womb, which should be the safest place around? Can’t it be a “both and” rather than an “either or” when it comes to a mother and her baby? According to our state’s elected Democrats, the answer appears to be no.

Republicans share the political blame. Toward the end of the legislative session, New York’s elected Republicans opposed a raft of important new gun-safety laws, which passed anyway, promising to increase the legal age to purchase semiautomatic rifles and strengthen the state’s red-flag law. My brother bishops and I were happy to support these important initiatives, all intended to save lives, just as we firmly opposed the new abortion laws.

How will it be possible to sustain a culture of nonviolence and safety when one party continues to applaud and promote the killing of defenseless babies in the womb and the other practically deifies firearms and rejects even the most common-sense regulations on them?

The prospects look bleak, but I’m in the business of hope. I ask New Yorkers of every faith to join me in prayer that our lawmakers will take seriously their responsibility to protect and defend human life.

Cardinal Dolan is Archbishop of New York.

 

LifeSite News has posted a video about Joan Andrews Bell

Just go here -

With the anticipated end of Roe v. Wade on the horizon, Jim Hale is profiling some of the heroes of the movement who have devoted their lives to ending abortion. Joan Andrews Bell will go down in pro-life history as one of the most influential and inspiring activists of all-time.

Pro-aborts block St. Patrick's Old Cathedral on Saturday

The usual nonsense, in lower Manhattan near Planned Parenthood.  Not St. Patrick's Cathedral. St. Patrick's Old Cathedral

If you hit the link below there's video and photos.

Pro-Life Catholics in the community have gathered for Mass and a rosary procession to a Planned Parenthood one block away from the church nearly every month for the past 14 years to protest this nation’s abortion laws. However, the group of Catholics were met by pro-abortion activists who blocked the church doors on Saturday.

The pro-abortion radicals were reportedly singing and chanting, “Thank God for abortion,” as they blocked the church’s entrance.

Politico article and draft document overturning Roe v Wade

Here is the link to the full document presumably written by Justice Alito.

And our comment, apropos considering the flash mob that turned up outside the Supreme Court last night.

It's going to get lots worse.  The fact that it will mostly remain legal - not the point - they want the affirmation that abortion is a positive good. In fact the sacrament of the progressives.

Read Justice Alito's initial draft abortion opinion which would overturn Roe v. Wade

Here is the Politico article.

The draft opinion is a full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision – Planned Parenthood v. Casey – that largely maintained the right. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito writes.

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” he writes in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

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

Hit the link for the full article.

 

Major charges by feds for nine participants in 2020 clinic protest and blockade

Here is the press release put out by the Department of Justice. The FBI made arrests in the last several days - "...defendants each face up to a maximum of 11 years in prison..." We will pass on more information as we may receive it.

Nine Defendants Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Conspiracy and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) Offenses for Obstructing Patients and Providers of a Reproductive Health Services Facility

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia today announced a two-count indictment charging Lauren Handy, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia; Jonathan Darnel, 40, of Arlington, Virginia, Jay Smith, 32, of Freeport, New York; Paulette Harlow, 73, of Kingston, Massachusetts; Jean Marshall, 72, of Kingston, Massachusetts; John Hinshaw, 67, of Levittown, New York; Heather Idoni, 61, of Linden, Michigan; William Goodman, 52, of the Bronx, New York; and Joan Bell, 74, of Montague, New Jersey, with federal civil rights offenses in connection with an alleged reproductive healthcare clinic invasion in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 22, 2020. The defendants were charged with conspiracy against rights and a FACE Act offense.

The indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that the nine defendants engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade at the reproductive health care clinic to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services. According to the indictment, as part of the conspiracy, Smith, Harlow, Marshall, Hinshaw, Idoni, Goodman and Bell traveled to Washington, D.C., from various northeast and midwestern states, to participate in a clinic blockade that was directed by Handy and was broadcast on Facebook by Darnel. According to the indictment, Handy, Smith, Harlow, Marshall, Hinshaw, Idoni, Goodman and Bell forcefully entered the clinic and set about blockading two clinic doors using their bodies, furniture, chains and ropes. Once the blockade was established, Darnel live-streamed footage of his co-defendants’ activities. The indictment also alleges that the nine defendants violated the FACE Act by using a physical obstruction to injure, intimidate and interfere with the clinic’s employees and a patient, because they were providing or obtaining reproductive health services.

If convicted of the offenses, the defendants each face up to a maximum of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $350,000.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington, D.C. Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of New Jersey, District of Massachusetts, Eastern District of Michigan, Eastern District of New York and Southern District of New York; and FBI Field Offices in Newark, New York City, Boston and Detroit provided valuable assistance.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Boston sidewalk counselor testified at the Supreme Court nominee hearing

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Thanks to our correspondent Laurie for sending us this. This story was also covered by the Daily Wire - go here

A pro-life sidewalk counselor expressed concern before members of the U.S. Senate Thursday that Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson has misrepresented people like her. “When I see a woman approaching…I always say, ‘Good morning! I’m Eleanor. How can I help you?’” said Eleanor McCullen, an 85-year-old Catholic grandmother located near Boston, describing how she greets women outside abortion clinics.

“It’s a powerful moment when a woman looks at me and our eyes connect, and she stops to talk,” McCullen stressed during her March 24 testimony. “It’s in that moment I promise her she will never walk her journey alone.”

McCullen testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Jackson’s confirmation hearings. She told CNA that she has dedicated 22 years to empowering women. Located in Newton, she engages with pregnant women considering abortion outside a Planned Parenthood in Boston.

“So many women I’ve met believe that their only choice is to end the life of their baby,” McCullen told senators. “It is in that moment of isolation and fear, that I have the privilege of offering a different choice—one that empowers and encourages the woman to know she is fully capable of becoming a mom and pursuing a job and going to school and having a successful and happy life.”

McCullen introduced herself as the lead plaintiff in a 2014 Supreme Court case regarding free speech. In that case, McCullen v. Coakley, the Supreme Court unanimously struck down a Massachusetts law that imposed a 35-foot “buffer zone” around abortion clinics, which prevented sidewalk counselors from speaking with women entering those clinics. Faith-based legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom helped with the case.

The court’s opinion in the case mentions another case, McGuire v. Reilly, which involved Jackson. In 2001, Jackson co-authored an amicus brief in McGuire v. Reilly, in support of a Massachusetts “buffer zone” law, pro-life groups, such as Susan B. Anthony List, have cautioned.

In the amicus brief Jackson wrote on behalf of abortion groups, pro-life leaders previously told Senate leaders, she “portrayed pro-life sidewalk counselors as a ‘hostile, noisy crowd of 'in-your-face protesters.’”

 

 

Red Rose Rescuers found guilty of criminal trespass at White Plains abortion mill - two articles

The rescue was November 28th at the misnamed "All Women's Health" abortion chamber on Mamaroneck Ave.  You can read about the rescue here - Red Rose Rescue comes to White Plains, NY.

There are two articles below - the 2nd one is less biased then the first one.

This is from the Northern Westchester Examiner about the trial in White Plains, which ended yesterday. Hit the link for the entire article; we are only excerpting part . The picture is from the Red Rose Rescue Facebook page.

Anti-Abortion Advocates Found Guilty of Criminal Trespass at White Plains Medical Facility

“The District Attorney’s Office will vigorously prosecute any criminal acts that interfere with an individual’s constitutional right to freely access healthcare,” Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah said in a press release following the trial. “There are no insignificant cases when it comes to the protection of reproductive rights.”

Through police body camera and security footage — as well as witness testimony from two police officers who responded to the incident and Constance Considine, chief administrator at All Women’s Health and Medical Services — it was confirmed that the individuals gained entry into the medical office through deception, using a female accomplice who made a fake appointment to gather information. 

Also in attendance for the entirety of the trial were staff members from WCLA – Choice Matters, a pro-choice advocacy organization. 

“In this time of unprecedented court attacks on abortion rights, it is essential to remember these assaults impact people right here in Westchester County,” Catherine Lederer-Plaskett, president of WCLA — Choice Matters, said. “These terrorists forced their way into a reproductive healthcare facility, frightening patients and putting needed medical care at risk.”  

“The six-woman jury spoke loud and clear when it rendered the guilty verdict in under 30 minutes,” Lederer-Plaskett continued. “Now the real work begins. We must make sure these criminals get more than a slap on the wrist.” 

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Collins on June 20. 

If convicted, they could serve up to 3 months in jail and pay a fine of up to $500. In lieu of jail time, the court may order the defendants up to one year of probation.

"Terrorists" ... oh please spare us.

Here is the Lohud article - a good bit fairer - hit the link -

The Rev. Christopher "Fidelis" Moscinski, Matthew Connolly and William Goodman were convicted after a three-day trial. They represented Red Rose Rescue, a religious group whose members speak to women at abortion clinics to try and persuade them not to get abortions, when they entered the clinic on Mamaroneck Avenue on Nov. 27 and had to be carried out by police.

The trio's lawyer, Steve Anduze, said the men were found guilty of entering the building and refusing to leave, but that they did not block access to the women seeking medical care there.

"All they did was hand out roses to the patients in the waiting room and offer them alternatives to abortion and supportive services," he said. "They were giving the women roses in the waiting room, and they were offering alternatives to abortion. They were telling them that there were services available to them, they had the opportunity to choose a different path, they wanted to save the lives of the unborn."