1. Idaho, Tennessee, and Texas trigger laws protecting preborn children now in effect
(LiveAction) - Trigger laws protecting preborn human beings from abortion went into effect on Thursday in Idaho, Tennessee, and Texas. Each law was passed prior to the fall of Roe v. Wade and is now able to take effect following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which allowed states to restrict abortion at any point during pregnancy for the first time in nearly 50 years. More than a dozen trigger laws exist around the nation. As Melanie Israel, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in an email, “Dobbs marked the beginning of a new chapter in the fight to protect innocent human life, and the progress we’ve seen in recent months has been incredible.” Idaho’s trigger law protects all preborn children from abortion without exception but allows doctors who commit abortions for three distinct reasons to use those reasons as a defense in court in order to avoid penalties. Those reasons include 1) if a woman’s life is considered to be at risk, 2) if a woman has been raped and reports the rape or act of incest and then gives the report to the doctor, or 3) if a minor has been raped and reports the rape or act of incest and gives the doctor that report. MORE
RELATED: Post-Roe ‘confusion’ helped defeat Kansas pro-life amendment >>
2. Radical Abortion Activists Vandalize Pregnancy Center, 165th Case of Pro-Abortion Violence This Year
(LifeNews) - A pregnancy resource center in Schenectady, New York became the latest target of more than 100 vandalism and arson attacks on pro-life organizations and churches since May.
Joe Burkuras, a journalist with the Catholic News Agency, broke the news Wednesday about the vandalism at Alpha Pregnancy Care Center, near Albany. A photo of the crime shows the words “Jane’s Revenge,” “Fake clinic” and “Stop forced birth!” spray-painted in red across the outside of the pro-life organization’s office. Jane’s Revenge is a radical pro-abortion group that has been connected to fire bombings and vandalism at pro-life organizations across the country. Burkuras said the vandalism occurred Monday. In a statement, Alpha Pregnancy Care Center said the attack will not stop the organization from continuing to serve mothers and babies in need. “While this is a disappointment, we are not surprised by it nor are we swayed from our mission,” the organization said. “Please know that we will continue to press on in our regular activities while also being diligent to make sure our facilities remain safe for our clients, volunteers and staff.” The pregnancy center also asked for prayers in the increasingly hostile political environment. MORE
RELATED: Know the Myths and Facts about Pregnancy Centers >>
3. Planned Parenthood ups its focus on chemical abortion: Report
(PHN) - The largest abortion provider in the U.S. has boosted its focus on chemical abortions, a new report says, with an 82% increase in facilities that offer DIY abortion services, compared to a 39% increase of those offering surgical abortion. American Life League’s Planned Parenthood Facilities Report found that Planned Parenthood increased the number of its abortion facilities by 162 between 2005 and 2021, with a majority of those being facilities that provide chemical abortion. The findings point to an overall decline of Planned Parenthood facilities and customers, the report’s summary said, while at the same time showing an increase in the percentage of facilities that offer some form of abortion. With most of those being chemical abortion pill dispensaries, the report says, it shows the abortion giant’s rising dependance on the abortion pill for income. “America’s abortion giant is pushing pills in its quest to continue profiting off of pregnant women,” a release from American Life League (ALL) said. MORE
RELATED: Unsafe, Illegal, and Far from Rare - Chemical Abortion's Online Black Market >>
4. Biden signs executive order that ‘paves the way’ for using Medicaid to cover abortions
(CNA) - President Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that would allow states to use Medicaid to pay for abortion services for women traveling from other states. The executive order directed Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra to “consider action to advance access to reproductive healthcare services” for women, particularly those who travel out of state to have abortions. It was not clear from the language of the executive order exactly which abortion services would be covered. Under the Hyde Amendment, the use of federal funding for abortions is prohibited except in the cases of rape, incest, or a “life-endangering physical condition” that places the mother “in danger of death.” At a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed the order “paves the way for Medicaid to pay for abortions for women having to travel out of state” by allowing states to apply for Medicaid waivers. When asked by a reporter how the administration would accomplish this in light of the Hyde Amendment’s restrictions on federal abortion funding, Jean-Pierre said, “we’re going to leave it to HHS to come up with the details on the specifics on how they’re going to work with states — if a state asks for a waiver — and what that’s going to look like.” MORE
5. FBI Rescues Over 200 Trafficking Victims, Including 84 Children, in ‘Operation Cross Country’
(DC) - The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has rescued more than 200 victims of human trafficking as a part of a coordinated law enforcement operation. According to a press release from the FBI, Operation Cross Country spanned the first two weeks of August, and led to 84 minor victims of child sex trafficking being located, along with 37 children who were missing. In addition, 141 adult victims were rescued. The youngest victim was 11 years old. The FBI said that agents and investigators working on Operation Cross Country identified or arrested 85 suspects with child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenses. The operation involved the FBI, other federal agencies, state and local police, and various social services agencies. The press release noted that there were around 200 federal, state and local agencies that partnered with the FBI on the operation. Law enforcement agencies conducted 391 operations over the two-week period. “The initiative really just takes a concentrated period of time where we’re just focused on the problem of child sex trafficking,” said Section Chief Jose Perez, who oversees violent crime investigations in the FBI. MORE
RELATED: Dozens Arrested in Ohio While Trying to Buy Sex During Statewide Sweep >>
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World Medical Association: doctors should not be forced to provide referrals for assisted suicide and euthanasia >>
Pro-Life Advocates Protest at Kroger After Grocery Store Funds Abortion Travel Killing Babies >>
Pro-Life Leaders Blast Walmart for Funding Abortion Travel Killing Babies >>
Federal judge halts Biden HHS plan to force hospitals to provide abortions in Texas >>
Arkansas Allocates $1 Million for Pregnancy Resource Centers >>
Judge Blocks Indiana’s ‘Save Women’s Sports’ Act so Boy Can Play on Girls Softball Team >>
Most Illinois School Districts Reject New Sex Education Standards >>
School Lunch Program Held Hostage: 22 States Sue Feds for Using Needy Children to Push Gender Ideology >>
Update on Life in the States: Courts Rule on Abortion Bans in Kentucky, Louisiana and Michigan >>
Google Will Promote Abortion Businesses in Search Results and Censor Pregnancy Centers >>
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New book provides roadmap to pro-life movement’s future
(CNA) - What do you get when you put a pro-life scholar and a pro-life journalist together to write a book? A guide to the future of the pro-life movement and the truth about abortion. Ryan T. Anderson and Alexandra DeSanctis recently co-wrote “ Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing” to explain pro-life arguments with facts and logic while revealing the brutality of abortion and how it has wounded society. MORE
Coerced abortion: It’s far more common than you think
(NRLC) - Without fail, abortion activists present abortion as a choice. However, studies show that 64% of post-abortive women felt pressured to abort. At the same time, 67% received no counseling before undergoing the abortion and 79% received no information about available alternatives. MORE
Canada ignored warnings that its euthanasia law immediately went too far.
(NRLC) - Tristan Hopper wrote an excellent article that was published in the National Post on August 19, 2022 about the many stories that have been published in the past few months concerning the many unexpected victims of Canada’s euthanasia law. Hopper examines the law based on how the law went too far from its inception. MORE
80-Year-Old Feminist Banned from Washington State YMCA for Warning Other Women About Male Bodies in Locker Room
(DC) - On July 26, an 80-year-old woman and self-professed feminist, was minding her own business at her local YMCA in Port Townsend, WA when it happened. A man who claimed to be a woman was in the very small women’s changing room while young girls changed their bathing suits. MORE
Omaha, Sioux Falls bishops adopt policies affirming students’ biological sex
(CNA) - Catholic bishops from two U.S. dioceses have issued policies that would prohibit Catholic schools from promoting a view of sexual identity that contradicts Church teaching. Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, Nebraska, and Bishop Donald DeGrood of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, join several other dioceses that have implemented such policies as discussions over the use of pronouns have taken up debate in the public square. MORE
Celebrating life through art: Life Monument’s historic Rome installation, U.S. tour
(PHN) - A stunning monument to life was installed in Rome this past May and is also making its way around the United States. The Life Monument is the first pro-life sculpture in the Eternal City, according to the work’s creator, Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz. MORE
Report: Women's Healthcare Centers Outnumber Planned Parenthood Facilities 14 to 1
(PHN) - U.S. women have markedly more choices through community-based care providers than with abortion providers, according to a new report. The Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the research arm for national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America, recently released a report titled, “Women Have Real Choices,” showcasing the work of pregnancy resource centers versus the work of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. MORE
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TAKE ACTION!
What can you do to respond to what's happening in our culture?
Here are some suggestions:
1. Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio created suggested letters to Kroger and Giant Eagle, grocery store chains that promised to fund abortion travel, that pro-lifers may use to send to the companies in protest. LEARN MORE
2. How to comment on Biden rule forcing doctors to perform transition surgeries, abortions. A 60-day comment period during which members of the public can voice their objections before it becomes the law of the land has begun. LEARN MORE
3. Groups Rally to ‘Stop the Title IX Take-Over’ – You Too Can Speak Out on This Important Issue. The DOE is hearing comments on this new Title IX policy until September 12, 2022.
SAVE has provided step-by-step instructions for “How to Submit Your Comment to the Department Of Education.”
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The Culture of Life Update is published monthly by the Office of Marriage, Family and Respect Life of the Diocese of Steubenville. Designed for busy people, the Culture of Life Update provides a once-a-month overview of news stories related to life, marriage and the family. It's a great and easy way to get informed.
The news provided in the Culture of Life Update is for information purposes only. The inclusion of any article is not meant to be an endorsement of a particular author’s viewpoint, nor it is meant to be an endorsement of the organization providing the information.
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