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Friday, September 6, 2013

Thu Sep 05, 2013 14:09 EST

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 5, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In response to the news that taxpayers will foot at least part of the bill for lawmakers’ and Congressional staffers’ healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – better known as ObamaCare – attorneys for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have issued a letter reminding the Obama administration that federal law prohibits tax money being spent on plans that cover abortion, and that the president himself promised not to change that.

Current federal law governing federal employees’ health plans states, “No funds...shall be available to pay for an abortion, or the administrative expenses in connection with any health plan…which provides any benefits or coverage for abortions.” The law includes exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.

But beginning next year, legislators and their staffers will be able to choose their own insurance plans from the new state healthcare exchanges and have their expenses partially reimbursed by the federal government.

Some of the available plans will include abortion coverage.

The USCCB’s attorneys argued in their letter that current federal laws barring the use of taxpayer funds for abortion coverage still apply, regardless of where or by whom a plan is purchased.

“Contributions by the federal government to health plans that cover elective abortions,” they add, would also “run afoul of the administration’s own assurances, both before and after ACA’s enactment, that ACA would not be construed to authorize such contributions.”

Prior to ObamaCare’s passage, President Obama told ABC News’ Jake Tapper that ObamaCare “is a health care bill, not an abortion bill…we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions.”

“I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test — that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions,” he said.

“The president has repeatedly assured Congress and the American people that current restrictions on abortion funding would not be reversed, or weakened in their application, by ACA,” the USCCB’s attorneys wrote. “Such assurances played a major role in securing final passage of the bill, and were formalized in an executive order issued by the president.”

But despite previous assurances, since ObamaCare was passed, the administration has been evasive about whether congressional employees who choose to purchase plans that include abortion coverage will be eligible for reimbursement under ObamaCare.

A rules Q&A released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said simply that “individuals who enroll in exchange plans will be subject to the same rules established for [private citizens] on the exchange.”

The new rules do not mention any restrictions on abortion coverage.

 

Thursday, September 5, 2013

11:54 AM, Sep 5, 2013 | by Jason Noble

 

The chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa blasted two Democratic candidates for governor for standing by while a woman prayed for continued access to abortion during a political rally in the Capitol last week.

Party Chairman A.J. Spiker called the prayer, delivered by Midge Slater of the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans, “sick, twisted and disgusting” and faulted candidates Tyler Olson and Jack Hatch for not indicating their disapproval of it.

“Praying to God and thanking Him for abortions, and then asking for his guidance to provide more abortions, is one of the most atrocious things I’ve ever heard of,” Spiker said in a lengthy prepared statement.

He added, “If this is what Olson and Hatch think will help them in their race to defeat Terry Branstad in 2014, then it shows just how unbelievably out of touch they are with everyday Iowans and how poorly they’re going to perform come election time.”

The prayer was held near the beginning of an “Iowa Women Deserve Better” rally at the Capitol shortly before a meeting of the state Board of Medicine on a proposed rule barring the use of telemedicine in medication abortions.

The purpose of the rally was specifically to defend legal access to abortion.

Both Olson, a state representative from Cedar Rapids, and Hatch, a state Senator from Des Moines, spoke at the event, as did state Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, and state Rep. Marti Anderson, D-Des Moines. All four stood near the lectern as Slater delivered the prayer with their heads bowed.

In the prayer, (posted online here by The Iowa Republican blog) Slater thanked God for doctors who perform abortions and prayed for their safety. She also prayed that elected officials support “a woman’s right to make her own medical decision” and for continued access to “all forms of birth control.”

“We give thanks and celebrate that abortion is still safe and legal,” Slater said.

In an interview with the Register on Thursday, Olson reiterated his support for access to abortion but said he couldn’t speak to anyone else’s view on the matter.

“I believe that the decision should not be made at state Capitol. It should be made between a woman, her doctor, her family, her faith community, whoever she wants to include in that,” he said. “That’s my position, it has been my position, it will be my position and I don’t speak for anybody else.”

Calls to Hatch were not immediately returned.

At a simultaneous rally held by abortion opponents at a nearby church, organizers distributed a “prayer guide” containing several suggested prayers underscoring opposition to abortion. Many attendees read off the sheet as they prayed silently in the church sanctuary.

One of the prayers asked forgiveness “for allowing the telemed abortion distribution system to exist in our state and deliver us from this great evil.”

Another thanked the Lord for “the newly appointed Iowa Board of Medicine who voted to review the distribution of the dangerous RU-486 abortion drug thru telemedicine.” It continued, “May the Lord endow them with wisdom and understanding.”

 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

by Steven Ertelt | Madison, WI | LifeNews.com | 9/2/13 3:58 PM

On Friday, a judge in Wisconsin issued an injunction blocking part of a pro-life law designed to protect the health and safety of women considering abortions. Governor Scott Walker signed the law in July.

U.S. District Judge William Conley issued an order blocking a law that requires abortion practitioners to have admitting privileges at a local hospital to admit women as patients when the abortion injures them and causes problems requiring emergency medical attention.

A federal judge on Friday extended his hold on a portion of a new Wisconsin law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, issuing an injunction blocking the mandate for another four months.

U.S. District Judge William Conley’s order stems from a lawsuit Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services filed in July. The organizations say the law would force a Planned Parenthood clinic in Appleton and an AMS clinic in Milwaukee to close because abortion providers at both facilities lack admitting privileges.

Conley issued a temporary hold on the provisions on July 8. The organizations asked him to issue a preliminary injunction that would block the requirement through a trial set to begin Nov. 25.

State attorneys defending the law could ask the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the injunction. A spokeswoman for the state Justice Department said in an email that agency lawyers are reviewing Conley’s order and considering their “next step.” She did not elaborate. As the case stands now the two clinics can remain open at least until Conley issues a final ruling after the trial.

Susan Armacost, Legislative Director of Wisconsin Right to Life, has said: “Apparently, Wisconsin’s abortion clinics don’t believe their abortionists need to have hospital privileges at a hospital located within 30 miles of their clinic….or anywhere at all. Currently, when a woman experiences hemorrhaging or other life-threatening complications after an abortion in Wisconsin, the clinic puts her in an ambulance and sends her to a hospital ALONE where she is left to her own devices to explain her medical issues to the emergency room staff. The abortionist who performed the abortion is nowhere to be seen.  This deplorable situation must change.”

Armacost said the new law is on sound constitutional footing. Nine other states have passed laws requiring abortion doctors to have hospital admitting privileges. Missouri’s admitting privilege law was challenged and upheld by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

C. Brent Boles, a Tennessee doctor, has spoken out about the importance of such a measure in his state.

“Currently, abortion facilities in Tennessee frequently do not provide any resource for patients to receive help or have questions answered after hours or on weekends.  Patients are left to fend for themselves.  They present to emergency rooms all over the state and they call GYN offices where the providers are not abortion providers and have no experience providing abortion services and they need help,” he explained.

“Complications of any procedure are best managed by those providers with the most experience in the particular field…complications of abortion are best managed by abortion providers,” Boles said. “In order to have complete access to everything that a post-abortion patient would need, the provider who cares for these patients  must have access to the facilities in a hospital….They must have access to the resources needed, and sometimes these resources are available only in a hospital.”

“Abortion providers should have a clear process, communicated to the patient in a simple way, that outlines how the patient is to contact the provider after hours for problems, and where they are to go if they must go to the Emergency Room,” he concluded.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

BY BEN JOHNSON

Wed Aug 28, 2013 14:28 EST

SACRAMENTO, CA, August 28, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – California is on the brink of allowing non-physicians to perform abortions in some circumstances.

 

The State Senate passed AB154 by a 25-11 vote on Monday. The bill would authorize midwives, nurse practitioners, and physicians’ assistants to perform first-trimester suction aspiration abortions.

Lou Correa of Anaheim was the only Democrat to vote against the bill, which was introduced by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego.

If the state Assembly passes the amended bill and Governor Jerry Brown signs it into law, California will become the fifth state to allow – or at least not ban – the practice, joining Montana, New York, Oregon, and Vermont.

“The growing shortage of abortion providers creates a significant barrier for women,” according to State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara.Toni Atkins introduced the bill.

The Guttmacher Institute reports that in 2008 nearly one-third of all the nation's abortion providers -- more than 500 -- worked in California.

Live Action founder Lila Rose said the bill would allow Planned Parenthood “to kill unborn children at lower costs, as they would not have to pay a doctor.”

“In the wake of Kermit Gosnell, in whose abortion facility a woman died from an untrained staff member's mistake, it's unthinkable for lawmakers in California to push a law like this,” Rose said.

A study conducted by Tracy Weitz, director of UC-San Francisco’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, found that abortions performed by non-physicians had twice the rate of complications as those performed by doctors. However, Dr. Weitz called the difference “clinically equivalent.”

The push to enable midwives and other non-physcicians to perform abortions is a growing trend in the West and elsewhere across the globe. At the Women Deliver conference earliler this year in Kuala Lumpur, Malysia, representatives of the population control lobby discussed using midwives as a vehicle for increasing the number of worldwide abortions. 

“Abortion backers say they care about the health and safety of women but their action show they just want more abortions, even if that means lower medical standards,” Rose said.

Readers may contact California assembly members of the committee, by visiting www.leginfo.ca.gov

 

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

BY THADDEUS BAKLINSKI

Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:50 EST

ARVADA, Colorado, August 27, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A list that appeared on Buzzfeed detailing "outrageous" incidents recorded at Planned Parenthood facilities by the pro-life group Live Action has now gone viral and infuriated abortion supporters in the process, who are demanding that it be removed from the wildly popular site.

The articled, titled "8 Outrageous Things Planned Parenthood was Caught Doing," was posted on the Buzzfeed Community forum, where anyone can post Buzzfeed-style lists of their own devising, by the pro-life group Personhood USA.   

As of this writing it has been viewed over 105,000 times since being put up on August 21, and has gone viral on Facebook and Twitter. 

Since Personhood USA began posting their lists on BuzzFeed Community over a week ago, they have accumulated 16 automatically-generated BuzzFeed ‘awards’, including Gold Facebook (over 10,000 views), Gold Twitter (over 10,000 views) and Gold Views (over 100,000), according to the group. 

BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith seems to have been caught off guard by both the popularity of the pro-life posting and by the harsh reaction of those opposing the appearance of the list on his website. 

Smith told the New York Observer’s Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke that BuzzFeed is ”in the process of figuring out where and whether we should draw lines about what’s appropriate on what we conceived as an open platform.” 

Smith added that, “one of the few ways these posts get seen are from stories like the one you wrote. There isn’t a single link on BuzzFeed to this story, but there is one in the New York Observer.“ 

According to a press release from Personhood USA, the reaction by abortion advocates to the popularity of the posting has prompted BuzzFeed to put up a Personhood USA-specific disclaimer. 

"The new disclaimer, which Personhood USA researchers cannot find on any other BuzzFeed posts, states, 'Community posts are made by members of the community, and are not vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed',” said Josh Craddock of Personhood USA. 

Craddock pointed out that BuzzFeed staff have posted several pro-choice articles, including  “The Internet Celebrates Texas State Senator Wendy Davis’ Filibuster” and “What the Language in Abortion Law Really Means,” all with no disclaimer. 

The "8 Outrageous Things Planned Parenthood was Caught Doing" list includes videos recorded in LiveAction.org sting operations showing PP staff accepting racist donations, telling lies about providing mammograms, giving misinformation about pregnancy, and hiding child rape. 

“Instead of outrage at Planned Parenthood, who receives hundreds of millions of our tax dollars, the general outcry has been directed at BuzzFeed and Personhood USA, which is ridiculous,” said Craddock. 

“We at Personhood USA are using BuzzFeed to share a message, just like every other BuzzFeed contributor. It seems that many don’t want to believe that Planned Parenthood would be guilty of such outrageous things, but Planned Parenthood’s misdeeds are well-documented.” 

Personhood USA currently has seven pro-life posts on BuzzFeed that include “5 Incredible Videos of Life in the Womb” and “5 Bizarre 'Persons' Protected By Law. Their most recent posting is "10 Hollywood Movies That Accidentally Affirm Life." 

Link to all the Personhood USA BuzzFeed postings here. 

 

Friday, August 23, 2013

BY LIFESITENEWS STAFF

Thu Aug 22, 2013 11:34 EST

COLUMBUS, OH, August 22, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Today, Ohio Right to Life urged Attorney General Mike DeWine to expedite the litigation against Planned Parenthood and its practice of off-label prescribing abortion pill RU-486 (mifepristone) in Ohio. This request comes in light of 42 reports of failed uses of the drug in the state.

The Food and Drug Administration recommends that RU-486 (commonly referred to as a chemical abortion) be administered in two doses orally and in the presence of a physician. The FDA approved RU-486 only through 49 days of pregnancy.

However, contrary to FDA protocol, Planned Parenthood prescribes chemical abortions through 63 days (9 weeks) of pregnancy. Furthermore, the organization sends women home to complete the chemical abortion themselves without a physician present.

Recently, Ohio Right to Life, via a public records request, obtained 42 reports of botched RU-486 attempts in Ohio. Several involved moderate to severe bleeding and included incidences of hematometra (an accumulation of blood in the uterus). Thirty-five total cases involved incomplete abortions. Women were required to return to the abortion clinic to have the abortions completed surgically.

"Planned Parenthood's reckless, off-label prescribing of RU-486 is no better than the 'back alleys' that the abortion industry references to scare women into supporting abortions on demand," said Laura Beth Kirsop, director of communications at Ohio Right to Life. "These reports sadly showcase the hazards that at-home and unsupervised, chemical abortions pose to women's health. Yet Planned Parenthood remains in direct and reckless conflict with the FDA, carelessly sending women home for unsafe, 'do-it-yourself' abortions."

In the case that RU-486 fails, Planned Parenthood informs women that they will need to undergo a surgical abortion. This is because the chemical abortion can cause serious birth defects if the pregnancy continues.

One of the public documents noted that one woman never returned to Planned Parenthood for a follow-up to confirm that the abortion was completed.

"I have to ask the frightening question of where that child is today,” Kirsop said. “Was she born? Maybe not, but maybe. And if she was born, what kind of birth defects would she have sustained because of Planned Parenthood's recklessness?”

“The point is, according to public documents, Planned Parenthood doesn't know, and thanks to their scandalous fight against the enforcement of FDA protocol in Ohio, they don't have to know,” she said.

In 2004, the Ohio Legislature passed a law requiring that physicians comply with FDA guidelines for RU-486. The law remains embroiled in a court battle because of challenges brought by Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio. In October 2012, a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2004 Ohio law. Planned Parenthood of Ohio has since challenged the decision, asking for reconsideration.

"RU-486 has already killed fourteen women and injured more than 2,000 women in the U.S.," said Kirsop. "The longer Planned Parenthood dodges the enforcement of FDA protocol, the more women's lives and health are put at risk. Ohio Right to Life urges Attorney General Mike DeWine to put an end to Planned Parenthood's game and expedite the litigation of the chemical abortion case.

To view the 42 reports of botched chemical abortions, click here.

 

Wednesday, August 21, 2013
10:58 AM, AUG 21, 2013 • BY JOHN MCCORMACK
 
Louisville's WFPL reports:

The powerful pro-choice group EMILY's List is endorsing Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky's 2014 U.S. Senate race.

The group had encouraged Grimes to get in the Senate race as early as March, and has been helping the first-term secretary of state raise money in a bid to unseat Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell next year.

In an e-mail to supporters, EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock called Grimes an "energetic rising star" who can beat McConnell.

Could Grimes' support for abortion-on-demand hurt her in a conservative state like Kentucky? Nationwide polling has shown that opposition to a limit on late-term abortion and support for taxpayer-funded abortion under Obamacare is deeply unpopular. And Kentucky voters are much more "pro-life" than the average American voter.

The Huffington Post's Howard Fineman recently reported that Grimes "told [him] that she was pro-choice down the line on abortion," but Grimes has not specifically spelled out her position on late-term limits or taxpayer-funding.

Read more at The Weekly Standard

Monday, August 19, 2013

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Published: August 18

The politics of the abortion debate are always tricky for lawmakers. They may soon get personal.

An attempt to fix a problem with the national health-care law has created a situation in which members of Congress and their staffers could gain access to abortion coverage. That’s a benefit currently denied to them and to all federal employees who receive health insurance through the government’s plan.

 

Abortion opponents say the Obama administration needs to fix the congressional exception; abortion rights supporters say such concerns are overblown.

The abortion complication is another headache for the administration as it tries to shoehorn members of Congress and certain staffers into insurance markets coming later this year under President Obama’s health-care overhaul.

An amendment by Iowa Republican Sen. Charles E. Grassley — who opposes “Obamacare” and abortion — requires lawmakers and their personal staff to get private coverage through the same markets that uninsured Americans will use.

Last week, the Office of Personnel Management said the government would keep paying its share of premiums for lawmakers and affected staffers who must leave the federal-employee health-care system by Jan. 1. That eased a major anxiety for several thousand staffers accustomed to getting the same benefits as other federal employees.

But the proposed regulation did not explicitly address abortion coverage. Under the health-care law, insurance plans in the new markets may cover abortion unless a state passes a law prohibiting them from doing so. Plans offering coverage of abortion, however, may not use federal funds to pay for it. Federal tax credits to help the uninsured afford coverage must be kept apart from premiums collected for abortion coverage.

Abortion opponents say the regulation would circumvent a long-standing law that bars the use of taxpayer funds for “administrative expenses in connection with any health plan under the federal employees health benefits program which provides any benefits or coverage for abortions.” Unlike many private corporate plans, federal-employee plans cover abortion only in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

“Under this scheme, (the government) will be paying the administrative costs,” said Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.), author of the abortion-funding ban for federal-employee plans. “It’s a radical deviation and departure from current federal law, and it’s not for all federal employees but for a subset: Congress. Us.”

Smith is calling on the Obama administration to specify that lawmakers and staffers must choose a plan that does not cover abortions. The funding ban, in place since the 1980s, is known as the Smith amendment.

The personnel office refused to address the issue on the record. Instead, its media office released a generic statement, saying: “Federal law prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortion except in the case of rape, incest or when the life of the woman is endangered. All plans available in the marketplaces will comply with the law.”

Obama, who supports abortion rights, has said previously that he does not want his health-care overhaul to change existing laws on abortion.

An independent expert on the federal-employee plan said abortion opponents appear to have a legitimate question, but the applicable laws are so arcane that it’s hard to tell who is right.

“This goes into a legal thicket the complexity of which I can’t begin to fathom,” said Walton Francis, lead author of an annual guide to federal health benefits. “It would take lawyers hours to decipher the interrelationship between these statutes, and they would probably come to different conclusions.”

Abortion opponents say the long-standing ban on “administrative expenses” related to abortion coverage precludes the personnel office from dealing with health plans that cover abortion.

“To comply with the Smith amendment, they would have to advise members and congressional staff that they can only choose plans that do not cover abortions,” said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee. “And, of course, they would have to enforce it.”

Abortion remains a legal procedure in most cases, but it’s subject to increasing restrictions in conservative-leaning states. So far, 23 states have barred or restricted abortion coverage by plans in the new health insurance markets. But 27 states and the District have not. Under the health-care law, every state must have at least one plan that does not cover abortion.

Judy Waxman, a leading attorney for the National Women’s Law Center, said the outcry from abortion opponents is overblown.

In the new insurance markets created by Obama’s law, states decide whether abortion coverage can be offered, she explained. If it’s allowed, insurers decide whether they want to offer the coverage. They may not use federal funds to pay for it and must set aside part of the premium collected from enrollees in a separate account to cover abortions.

“No federal money will go to abortion,” she said.

 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

BY KIRSTEN ANDERSEN

Wed Aug 14, 2013 12:51 EST

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 14, 2013 (LifeSiteNews) – The District of Columbia’s Obamacare-mandated health insurance exchange has awarded Planned Parenthood a $375,000 grant aimed at helping the abortion giant steer its clients toward the program.

The abortion provider was one of 35 exchange-endorsed “Health Link Assisters” selected by the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority to receive a combined $6.4 million in grants, which will pay for in-house “experts” on Obamacare to promote the health insurance exchanges to their clients. 

Planned Parenthood will receive $375,000 to promote President Obama's signature legislation.

Studies estimate that there are only about 40,000 uninsured people living in the District, which falls short of the 100,000 required to make the exchange viable.  For the exchange to work as intended, D.C. will have to be aggressive about recruitment.  Exchange officials say groups like Planned Parenthood will be instrumental in spreading the word.

“DC Health Link Assisters are a critical part of our enrollment efforts,” said Mila Kofman, executive director of the D.C. Health Benefit Exchange Authority.  “These organizations are trusted voices and sources of information in their communities and they will be our boots on the ground.”

Authority Chairwoman Diane C. Lewis said, “We are excited to create these partnerships with trusted organizations that have deep roots in the communities that make up the District of Columbia. The new health law offers essential benefits that will improve the health and security of the residents of our city. It is critically important that we have trained experts available to help ensure those benefits reach the people who need them.”

The grants range in size from $80,000 to $400,000.  Planned Parenthood’s was one of the largest -- only two grant recipients received more funding than the abortion giant.

President Obama had asked Planned Parenthood to promote his health care law during an appearanceat the organization’s gala in April.

"I'm here to ... ask for your help, because we need to get the word out," he told Planned Parenthood supporters gathered in Washington. "We need you to tell your patients, your friends, your neighbors, your family members what the health care law means for them."

"Make sure that they know that there are plans out there right now that cover the cost of contraception and preventative care free of charge," he said. "We've got to spread the word, particularly among women, particularly among young women, who are the ones who are most likely to benefit from these laws."

 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Aug. 13, 2013 (MarchforLife) - One year ago on August 13, 2012, Nellie Gray, foundress of the March for Life and pioneer of the pro-life movement, went home to be with God. On this, the first anniversary of her death, the March for Life is inviting local pro-lifers to join us for a mass in her memory at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine August 13, 2013, at 11:30 am.

Additionally, we are asking all pro-lifers worldwide- those who have (and have not) participated in the March for Life - to do something beautiful for life (something small!) and post it on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #marchforlife. This act could be a prayer, an act of charity, a donation to a pro-life group, praying in front of an abortion clinic, etc.

For those who may not have known Nellie Gray, following the Supreme Court decisions in Roe verses Wade and Doe verses Bolton in 1973, she retired from her federal career and dedicated the remainder of her life to the protection of pre-born babies. With the help of others, Nellie founded the March for Life, and coordinated the peaceful protest right out of her Capitol Hill townhouse for the next 39 years. Until her death on August 13, 2012, Nellie never stopped advocating for the preborn. Nellie was described by Cardinal Sean O'Malley as the "Joan of Arc of the pro-life Movement."

Today, the March for Life is the largest Civil Rights event in the world. The number of people who have traveled to Washington over the past 40 years to participate is in the millions. There have been countless stories of the young prolife activists who were "born" out of the March for Life, and are now changing the face of the pro-life debate. The March for Life is the engine of the prolife movement and we are all indebted to Nellie Gray.

If Nellie were here today, she would not want to be praised for her work; rather she would want everyone to do something concrete that will help to build a culture of life. Please consider making August 13 a special day for building a culture of life, and commemorate Nellie's work by doing something in her memory.

Here are a few ideas:

1.      Pray: Organize a group to pray for the end to abortion in front of a local abortion clinic.

2.      Advocate: call or write a letter to your member of Congress and ask him or her to support prolife laws which recognize the humanity of all people from conception to death.

3.      Write: a letter to the editor of your local news paper about the value of life, your experience at the March for Life, or the atrocity of abortion.

4.      Volunteer: at a local pregnancy resource center, there is nothing more prolife than helping pregnant mothers and their babies.

5.      Share this video about Nellie and her work at the March for Life!

Then, post it to facebook and tweet about it: #marchforlife.  Email us at info@marchforlife.org , and let us know what you did to commemorate Nellie Gray and her heroic work, and we may feature it on our website or on our social media!