By TAMIKO THOMAS
Tami Thomas
Greetings everyone! My name is Tamiko Thomas. I’m an African American woman who grew up in the midwest, in an evangelical Christian home. I am married. My husband Corey Thomas and I have been married for 31 years. We have three adult children ages 30, 25 and 22. We also have two grandsons, ages 9 and 6.
Taught that abortion is a sin
Growing up in a Christian home, going to a Christian school and going to church at least three to four times a week, I was taught to value life. I was also taught to abort a child was a sin, and I believed that whole heartedly.
As a teenager, I knew friends who had gotten pregnant and quietly went off to get an abortion because it was a “mistake” or that the pregnancy would “ruin” their lives. And I noticed that there were adults in the church who were surprisingly okay with their decisions. The more and more common it became, I noticed that it wasn’t discussed, and just swept under the rug. As a young, impressionable girl, I still believed it was wrong, but there may come a time when a young lady may have to “do what she must”.
Unplanned pregnancy
At the age of 18, I met my husband during our freshman year at Bible college. We fell hopelessly in love and became engaged. A year later, we were living together and I had become pregnant. No longer just starry eyed kids in love, we were faced with real life adult circumstances and challenges. Our relationship was strained at best, we fought all the time and I was a hormonal mess!
I had been speaking to my mother, who was in another state at the time about us moving back to my hometown. She knew people from our church who could help us with getting a job and finding a place to live. We finally made the decision to go back to where I grew up. We had gotten airline tickets and had planned to fly home soon.
In my heart and mind, I was struggling with a lot of conflict. By this time, I really didn’t like my husband and felt as if I had made a terrible mistake in marrying him. I was tired of fighting and crying all the time. By this time I was almost 6 months pregnant. Things had gotten so bad between us, that I made the decision that I was going to get an abortion and just part ways from each other. He agreed and so we made the appointment for an abortion.
God intervened
As a child and teenager, I loved the Lord and wanted nothing more than to serve Him. I had experienced God in very true and real ways. I knew His voice…I knew when He spoke to me. I couldn’t believe that I had failed so miserably. I was actually willing to go forward with aborting my child simply because it was more convenient for me. I thought I’d just get through it and seek forgiveness later, convinced it was my only solution.
The night before I was to go in for my appointment, I had a very vivid dream from God. I heard God’s voice speaking to me, telling me not to kill my baby. He told me He loved my baby and had great plans for my baby’s life. Then I saw my baby in the future. I saw that he was a boy. A curly haired, beautiful boy. He went on to tell me to name him Caleb Joshua and that He loves him and that I didn’t have the right to take his life from him. Even now, all these years later, I am in tears and in awe of what happened that night.
Because I knew this dream was from God and not my imagination, I told my husband about it and in that moment we decided to not go to the clinic that day as planned. We carried on with our plans to move back to my hometown. In the years that followed, we have done our best to raise him and our other two children.
No one is a “mistake”
Since that time over the years, we have pastored churches, been involved in many various areas of ministry. And I have made it my mission to tell my story to others. God truly is the one who forms us in our mothers womb, who makes us and decides exactly who we are to become. It is not our right to take a life that is given by our Creator. Children are a blessing from God and He makes each of them…each of us beautiful and with divine purpose. No one is a “mistake”!
(NIV) Psalms 139:13-16
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
[Thanks to Tami Thomas for permission to publish this essay, No one is a “mistake”, during Black History Month. This is the third in a series of essays from Iowa’s African-American community. You can read earlier essays here and here.]
By MIKE MANNO
The Equality Act erases our religious liberties and a baby’s right to be born
Several times in this column, I’ve mentioned my earlier allegiance to the Democratic Party. I attended conventions, held party office, and was elected as a Democrat to public office. I was as partisan as they come and have the newspaper clippings to prove it.
Deacon Mike Manno
I came of political age while in grade school. My dad one day pointed to a football game on TV (it was all black and white then) and told me that a senator I had never heard of, by the name of Kennedy, was at the game. In response to my question, he told me that the senator was a Catholic and was going to run for president.
That’s when I first fell in love with politics and started following it. I read the local paper and watched the news. That’s when I fell in love with journalism, a career I chose in high school. That led me to a lifelong study of all things political.
The second Catholic president
But now we have our second Catholic president. Unfortunately, one who does not follow the tenets of the Church on the issues of life, marriage, and family — just to mention a few! But now as I sort through his policy agenda, along with that of his party, I have to ask the question: Are the Democrats really trying to scuttle the Church? Or, do they just play that role on television?
Here’s what I know for sure. The Democrats have been trying to adopt legislation called the Equality Act. It passed the Democratic House; every Democrat voting for it and every Republican voting against it. Problem for the Dems was that the Senate was in Republican hands and it did not even consider the legislation, and, of course, there was no way President Trump would have signed it if it had reached his desk.
Democrats still control the House, but the Senate has flipped and is tied 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris sitting in the chair ready to break the tie in favor of the Equality Act, and good ol’ Catholic President Joe Biden has pledged to sign it.
The Equality Act promotes universal access to abortion
Now the title “Equality Act” certainly doesn’t sound like something to fear. Think again. It is designed, whether or not intentionally, to bring the Church to its knees both legally and financially. It would fundamentally and radically alter federal civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in much the same manner as racial discrimination is now prohibited. It would also reaffirm a commitment to a universal access to abortion.
Here are some of the things it would do:
Doctors, nurses, and hospitals — even faith-based hospitals — would be required to participate in and perform abortions, sex-change operations, and other procedures against their moral or ethical beliefs, or lose their medical licenses. All abortions, without restrictions, would be taxpayer funded. Any insurer or entity that provides health care for pregnancy and childbirth would be required to treat abortion as a “related medical condition.”
It would cause women to share locker rooms, bathrooms, hospitals, homeless and women’s shelters, gyms, prisons, military barracks. and other intimate spaces with men who identify as female.
Private and Catholic schools that have single-sex sports teams would be prohibited from competing against public school sports teams where such “discrimination” will be prohibited.
Private and religious schools who refuse to adopt LGBT policies that includes hiring active homosexuals, transgender individuals, as well as those in same-sex marriages would be prohibited from satisfying state compulsory attendance rules. They, along with churches, would be prohibited from obtaining construction loans from federally chartered banks and other institutions unless it adopts those same LGBT policies.
Schools, churches, and employers would be require to use an individual’s preferred pronoun, including those so gender confused that they use such as xe or fae, or any of the multiple variations of non-gender specific pronouns that are available.
If parents object to their minor child taking puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones that are suggested by a school counselor or social welfare agency, they could lose custody of their children.
The law will impact the Knights of Columbus and Catholic Charities
Foster and adoption agencies that refuse to place children in homosexual or transgender homes or with same-sex couples will violate the law. The Knights of Columbus, Catholic Charities, and other Christian nonprofits will be barred from receiving community block grant funds, unless they specifically agree to the LGBT agenda mentioned above.
And, of course, the kicker: Churches that do not celebrate same-sex weddings and who ordain only male clergy would lose their tax-exempt status. Churches would also become “public accommodations” which would disallow them from refusing to provide services on account of sexual orientation.
Any person or entity — including a church — found violating the provisions of the act — could be forced to pay court costs as well as compensatory damages — in an employment case of up to $300,000 — as well as punitive damages.
The icing on this cake is that the federal law which protects the conscience rights of individuals and businesses (such as Hobby Lobby), the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, would specifically be excluded from the Equality Act and could not be used as a defense.
Will the law financially crush the Catholic Church?
Robert Marshall, writing in LifeSiteNews before the election to warn voters of the LGBT agenda woven into the Equality Act, said:
“Attempting to interfere with the exercise of conscience by Christians is exactly the intent of the Equality Act. LGBTQ+ and pro-abortion leftists offer a choice of apostasy or persecution.”
On my radio program (January 14), he warned that the law could easily cause the financial collapse of the U.S. Church as well as many other Christian churches, organizations, and ministries.
If you would like more information on the Equality Act, our friends at the Heritage Foundation have a fuller explanation which you can find at https://www.heritage.org/gender/heritage-explains/the-equality-act.
So, how do you answer the question?
Then what are you going to do about?
Perhaps you might want to tell your answer to your priest and local bishop. As Archbishop José H. Gomez, archbishop of Los Angeles and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement:
“I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live, according to their consciences.”
This is not an exercise in partisanship. It is an exercise to save the Catholic Church and religious liberty in America. Speak up and act fast! Joe Biden has said he wants this bill on his desk during his first one hundred days.
[Deacon Mike Manno is an attorney and assigned to St. Augustin parish in Des Moines. He hosts a program on religious liberty, Faith On Trial, every Thursday on Iowa Catholic Radio, and is a weekly columnist for The Wanderer in which this article first appeared. You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Central Time on Faith On Trial on IowaCatholicRadio.com.]
Nine Democrats have sponsored new legislation to make Iowa the 4th state in the country making physician-assisted suicide legal. The nine include: State Reps. Brian Meyer (D-Des Moines), Dennis Cohoon (D-Burlington), Cindy Winckler (D-Davenport), Sally Stutsman (D-Riverside), Mary Mascher (D-Iowa City), Timi Brown-Powers (D-Waterloo), Mary Lynn Wolfe (D-Clinton), Marti Anderson (D-Des Moines), and Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D-Ames).
Iowans for LIFE opposes the so-called Iowa Death With Dignity Act. We promote the dignity of human life from fertilization to natural death.
The Heritage Foundation points out four flaws in these types of laws in a report published five years ago:
- Endanger the weak and vulnerable,
- Corrupt the practice of medicine and the doctor–patient relationship,
- Compromise the family and intergenerational commitments, and
- Betray human dignity and equality before the law
You can read the language of this bill, Senate File 212, here.
By RITA DAVENPORT
Rita Davenport
A fellow conservative asked me to provide my perspective as a Pro-Life Black American. As I considered the request, I wondered what my contribution to the discourse could be?
All human life is sacred
When I think about how I self-identify, it is first as a Christian. Therefore, I consider myself a member of the human race. And, as a Christian I believe the teaching of the Holy Bible: that all human life is sacred. We are all God’s creation with inalienable rights from conception until natural death. As Christians we must be Pro-Life. I understood that since I began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. There is no other position for a Believer. It is not possible to be a Christian and be anything else.
Attended a Black church
At this point in my life (I’m a 57-year-old, life-long Iowan), I know Whom I trust and what I believe. But it wasn’t always that way. As a young child, I was taken to church by my mother, who is a devout Christian. We attended a predominantly Black church where my mother is a member. I didn’t know why I should go to church or why the others who attended were there. Back then, my father never attended. So, by the time I turned 11 or 12, I emulated my dad and stopped attending services. Without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I felt like I floundered through life as a teen and as a young adult until I became a Christian 24 years ago. I think this is why it is so important for today’s youth to take bible lessons and attend church, at least so that they have a strong spiritual anchor that can help them face the storms of life.
Is a church reflective of Christ or the culture?
As I reflect back on my early years in the ‘Black church,’ I recall that the Word was preached. I can attest that the church I attended was a place that had great preaching in the traditional ‘call and response’ manner that is a recognized aspect of the African American Church. The Word was and is preached there. However, I don’t feel that ‘teaching’ is happening. What I mean is that these churches may be reflective not of Christ, but of the culture. Churches that do not correct the attitude of “my body, my choice” are perpetuating miseducation and permitting the lie to flourish. Godliness means the self is last. Obviously, any church that does not teach this basic tenet of Christianity is doing a disservice to the flock. I believe this lack of teaching the application of biblical principles to our lives is happening in a majority of mainstream denominations and churches. It’s not just an issue in predominantly Black churches. It is the feel good, “Christianity Lite” attitude that is pervasive in our culture. The Church needs to be the Church. Acting like “the World” to entertain churchgoers so as not to offend is what has led to a culture of death. Abortion is not healthcare. Abortion is murder.
Does government know what’s best?
Since becoming a Christian, I have seen many instances of “Christians” whose actions do not affirm that our rights come from God. As a highly involved member of the Republican Party, I have seen this fallacy play out at the ballot box. In society, it’s ‘polite’ to say that a Christian can vote for a Democrat. That is irrational since the platform and beliefs of the Democrat Party do not support the unborn child’s right to life. In fact, Democrats do not support anyone’s right to life. They believe that the government knows what is best. This leads to terrible offenses as people try to determine if a disabled person or elderly adult has “quality of life.” Then comes the “death with dignity” movement where the state or caretaker swoops in to ‘play God’ by determining if the individual will live or die.
As Christians, we must ‘speak the truth in love.’ Remember Jeremiah 1:5. When you encounter a non-Christian, encourage them to follow their conscience. (That’s why God gave us a conscience. It will line up with His Word.) Since we advocate for life, we can’t afford to be politically correct. Nor can we afford to take a ‘win some, lose some’ attitude. Our God wants us all to choose Him and choose life.
[Thanks to Rita Davenport for her guest blogpost. Ms Davenport has 30 years of experience in higher education. She is involved with political action and social justice work.]
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By WHITNEY SMITH McINTOSH
Whitney McIntosh (right), with her son, Gabe
Statistics and facts are quite interesting as they outline a story. For the beginning of Black History Month, I will be taking the opportunity to introduce you to the rarest and most elusive pro-life group out there: black, conservative, pro-lifers. I have recruited other Black Iowa pro-leaders to contribute to this blog during Black History Month.
The story of the African American community in the state of Iowa with the numbers reflected from 2017 and the success of Planned Parenthood’s extermination plan follows.
Iowa data
In the state of Iowa in 2017 the African American population was 110,050, 3.5% of the total population.
There were 21,888 families, although I’m not sure how this study defined families. The average size of the African American family is 3.33 people.
The number of African Americans over the age of 18 not included in a family unit was 37,163.
The African-American birth rate per 1000 African Americans was 20.1 percent which translates to 3028 African Americans born in 2017.
The African American surgical abortion rate is 17.3%, making the total number of African American surgical abortions in 2017 five-hundred twenty-six. (For the record, surgical abortions are tracked while chemical abortions are not.)
As an additional note, the number of African American children born outside of marriage was 696.
The black birth rate is below replacement
With African Americans being 3.5% of the population and the African American medical abortion rate being 17.3%, we are no longer able to replace ourselves for the next generation. If this rate continues, our population will almost be gone within four generations without having people come in from other states.
The dwindling population of African American unborn babies can be partially ‘credited’ to Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood whose eugenicist creed focused on reducing ‘undesirable’ elements of our population. Said Sanger:
“We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population…
… these two words [birth control] sum up our whole philosophy … It means the release and cultivation of the better elements in our society, and the gradual suppression, elimination and eventual extinction, of defective stocks — those human weeds which threaten the blooming of the finest flowers of American civilization.”
However, many pro-choice advocates don’t realize that Ms. Sanger largely opposed abortion:
“In plain, everyday language, in an abortion there is always a very serious risk to the health and often to the life of the patient … Frequent abortions tend to cause barrenness and serious, painful pelvic ailments. These and other conditions arising from such operations are very likely to ruin a woman’s general health.
But why not adopt the easier, safer, less repulsive course and prevent conception altogether? Why put these thousands of women who each year undergo such abortions to the pain they entail and in whatever danger attends them?”
[For the record, Iowans for LIFE only supports Natural Family Planning as the safe, effective, and theologically moral approach to family planning.]
The drive to reduce ‘deplorable’ elements of our society
Although Ms. Sanger didn’t advocate human abortion, she spent her life promoting and marketing birth control to black pastors in an effort to reduce what she considered deplorable elements of America. It was only after her death that Planned Parenthood aggressively began promoting and performing abortions, and that was under the leadership of a man, Alan F. Guttmacher.
Planned Parenthood began targeting black neighborhoods. Research done a few years ago by the Life Issues Institute found that “79 of abortion-performing Planned Parenthood clinics were within walking distance of these black neighborhoods.
Bitter fruit
Tragically, only 82.7% of black babies in Iowa survive the womb, as these numbers demonstrate. Nationally, it’s worse.
This number is horrifying, yet so big that it’s difficult to understand.
Another way to visualize the number is 18 classrooms worth of kids dead at the choice of their mothers.
Do I have to ask: where is the outcry?
Where is the indignation?
In the summer of 2020 we had riots, buildings being burnt down, laws being changed, and movements happening all over the world …during a pandemic. All of this because of the murder of 5 individuals, while 526 innocent Black babies were quietly killed in a back room. Where is 105 times the amount of outcry from the Black Lives matters community?
[Whitney McIntosh is a member of Iowan’s for LIFE’s board of directors.]
My name is Maggie DeWitte, and I am the Executive Director of Iowans for LIFE and the spokesman for the Coalition of pro-life leaders. In 2018 a grave injustice happened in the state of Iowa. A fundamental right to abortion was created in our Iowa Constitution. This was never a right granted in our constitution prior to 2018. Those who support this amendment are being accused of taking away women’s rights. But if anyone is taking away rights, it was the Iowa Supreme Court. They took away the rights of our duly elected legislators to do their job: create law. They took away the rights of Iowa citizens to exercise our right to have our voices heard regarding commonsense laws that will safeguard women and families in our state.
Yes, this amendment is about abortion; but it’s much more than abortion. Its about the way our branches of government are supposed to work; its about one branch usurping their authority and thereby opening the door to late term abortion — even to the point of birth and making Iowans pay for it.
This amendment will not end abortion in our state. It will not stop one single abortion from happening. This amendment allows us to fix a mistake — a big mistake that unelected judges made. This should have bipartisan support. Every legislator in this capitol should support their ability to create law and oppose judges who take that away from them.
I strongly support this amendment, and I thank the Senators for bringing this forward. I urge you to vote in favor of SJR 2.
By MB Beacom
[This is Part 2 of an essay on miscarriage. Be sure to read Part 1, “Mourning the loss of a child through miscarriage” if you missed it.]
Not everyone responded enthusiastically when Father spoke about prenatal life and loss at that university hospital those many years ago. There was some uncomfortable mumbling and stirring in the audience. And two nurses abruptly rose and walked out of the auditorium. They might have been paged back onto duty for all I knew, yet, one of them seemed to glare at me in my spot near the door as she was leaving. A call a few weeks later confirmed that the two had left angry and upset at the mention of recognizing the humanity of an aborted child. The woman who called was one of those two nurses, and she told me they had walked out, uneasy with the subject.
She had found my phone number through our parish office, and she had something she wanted to say to me.
“ Two weeks ago when I went to that talk I was assisting with elective abortions,” she told me, in the sort of matter-of-fact way that one reports on a trip to the grocery store. And then she said, “ I put in for a transfer to Labor and Delivery.”
I have no verification that she was who she said she was. There was no name, and it wasn’t a lengthy conversation. She wasn’t even giving a reason for the change in her position. She merely ended the call with this:
“I thought you should know.”
During the following weeks, I had four acquaintances tell me about their abortions. Two were contrite, sorrowful over decisions made in youth and of fear. One was defiant and defensive of her right to abort. The last was conflicted, caught between the public, political answer, and the private grief. I don’t recall what I said to each of them. I hope it was, “ I’m sorry for your loss”. And, “God never stopped loving you.”
I’m glad the internet was in its infancy back then, and there was no social media. I’ve had many friends and acquaintances tell me about their abortions, or that they were considering having an abortion, over the years … only not so much recently. Sure, it’s probably because I’m no longer in my child bearing years and less relatable. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been all over social media, trying to win arguments, not so much winning souls. Here’s my confession: the internet has made me dumber. And probably more angry. And a little bit mean. Certainly less approachable to someone who might be wanting to examine their own grief over a child lost to abortion.
I can’t blame anyone but myself, so I tried extracting myself from social media late last year, trying to return only with light. It’s slow going and I have had some regressions. Time will tell how I manage in this battle with myself. But souls are not won with political jabs and “gotcha” moments. They are won , one at a time, with love. I have to turn off the news and turn on my listening, one person at a time.
Some 15 years after that talk at the university hospital, I experienced my first and only miscarriage. I wrote about it on a blog I had been writing for some years, writing now more intimately than I had ever before written, and feeling very vulnerable. A family member who openly disagreed with my political and pro-life views, saw the post and called me. He said,
“I’m so sorry for your loss”.
He wasn’t the only one to respond his way, but the only comments I received about how the miscarriage was “probably for the best” (I was 45 years old), or ignored altogether, were from people who were vocally pro-life. That was the end of my blog. I had seriously miscalculated the internet’s capacity for compassion. But it took me too long to learn I was (and likely am still) part of the problem. The consistency we seek in others, we must strive for ourselves.
One year in which I attended the March for Life, a young priest spoke at the youth rally. I forget the specifics, but he powerfully sent home the message that who we are as precious creations of God is written in our hearts. As pro-lifers, he said, that was THE message we had to give others. But first, he said, we had to know it ourselves.
Ascension Press’s “ Bible in a Year” podcast is trending #1 today as I write this. The most listened-to podcast, now, January 2021. That’s incredible, really. In what has been a contentious and sad and confusing 9 months, how hungry we are for the love story of our creation, and God’s fatherhood of us all. That’s not just for other people, that’s for us. We can’t offer that revelation to others until we know it, intimately for ourselves, so that’s where we start. Read the Bible. We need to stop making idols of our anger, our fear, our debating skills, and especially our political figures, and remember one thing:
God loves us. Universally, collectively, individually, intimately. So much.
I just wanted you to know.
[MB Beacom is a wife, mother of ten, grandmother of seven, and freelance writer. She writes from her home in central Iowa on matters of faith, family, eldercare, obstetrics, art and design, sometimes rural life, and rarely politics.]
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[This is Maggie DeWitte’s testimony at the Iowa Capital today.]
Good Morning, my name is Maggie DeWitte, and I am the Executive Director of Iowans for LIFE. I am here today speaking against House Study Bill 121 for several reasons.
This bill states it does not include any drug intended to induce an abortion. Unfortunately, oral contraception can be abortifacient in nature. It is a medical fact that most if not all hormonal birth control drugs and devices, including the Patch and the Pill, can act to terminate a pregnancy by chemically altering the lining of the uterus (endometrium) so that a newly conceived child (human embryo) is unable to implant in the womb, thus starving and dying. This mechanism of action is termed a pre-implantation chemical abortion.
Oral Contraception is unsafe
The World Health Organization has classified combined hormonal contraception as a Group 1 carcinogen. This is the same classification as tobacco, arsenic, and asbestos. Women who use contraception for 11 years or longer are at a 210% increased risk of breast cancer. This undoubtedly is a fatal condition and treatment is often only possible when it gets diagnosed at an early stage. To avoid suffering from a chronic condition like this, all those on regular contraception can get themselves tested in a nearby cancer hospital. Even if they turn out to be suffering from cancer, the doctors can refer them to a trusted clinic similar to Amethyst (amethyst-radiotherapy.co.uk) for radiotherapy or recommend chemotherapy for severe cases.
The birth control pill is a steroid
Professional athletes cannot use steroids since they endanger their health. It has been established that using contraceptives increases the chance of blood clots, which can be deadly. They are more likely to result in heart disease, particularly in smokers. Additionally, if used regularly, these contraceptives can even contribute to the signs that heart failure is worsening. Several blood clots, heart attacks, and stroke deaths have been linked to Patch in lawsuits. The Food and Drug Administration has cautioned that the Patch carries a higher risk of blood clots than the birth control pill.
These medications should not be prescribed by anyone except a medical doctor who has access to accurate medical records and the necessary medical tests. Right now, we are also facing an epidemic of STD and hormonal contraception does not prevent the spread of these infectious diseases that in some cases are incurable.
A false sense of security which leads to abortion
Hormonal Contraception is ineffective and gives women a false sense of security. The New York Times published an article that stated that the fail rate is 38% by year five and that by year ten, 61 out of 100 women who use the pill will become pregnant.
According to a March 2017 Guttmacher Institute study,
“A substantial proportion of unintended pregnancies occur despite women’s and their partners’ use of contraceptives. In 2001, some 48% of women experiencing an unintended pregnancy had been using a method in the month of conception.”
In the same study Guttmacher also reported that …
“… about half of pregnancies terminated by induced abortions in 2008 occurred during use of contraceptives.”
So, you can give them the pills, but faulty or incorrect use makes them ineffective in reducing unplanned pregnancies.
Over-the-counter oral contraception puts women’s health at risk
This legislation will undercut / damage the physician-patient relationship. Any prescription medication carries risks, and a doctor should be monitoring those risks. It’s not the role of a pharmacist to monitor symptoms, and they do not have access to the patient’s medical history. And relying on a self-administered questionnaire is not reliable; people frequently do not remember the name or type of medication they have been on or currently on and would not know of the risks associated with that medication.
Lastly, If the intent of this bill is to reduce abortions, hormonal contraception over the counter is not the answer. It is dangerous and puts women’s health at risk. Please reconsider this bill. Thank you.
[Your financial support makes IFL’s presence at the Capital during the legislation session possible. Donate today to help us continue to support pro-life public policy.]
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On Jan. 18, 2021, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized pro-life voters who voted for Donald Trump because of his pro-life policies, saying their votes cause her “great grief as a Catholic.” She accused them of “being willing to sell the whole democracy down the river for that one issue.” San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone issued the following statement in Catholic San Francisco in response:
To begin with the obvious: Nancy Pelosi does not speak for the Catholic Church. She speaks as a high-level important government leader, and as a private citizen. And on the question of the equal dignity of human life in the womb, she also speaks in direct contradiction to a fundamental human right that Catholic teaching has consistently championed for 2,000 years.
Christians have always understood that the commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill,’ applies to all life, including life in the womb. Around the end of the first century the Letter of Barnabas states:
“You shall not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shall you destroy it after it is born’ (#19). One thousand, eight hundred and sixty-five years later, the Second Vatican Council affirmed: ‘Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes’ (“Gaudium et spes,” n. 51).
Pope Francis continues this unbroken teaching. Addressing participants in the conference “Yes to Life! – Taking Care of the Precious Gift of Life in Its Frailty” on May 25, 2019, he condemned abortion in the strongest possible terms:
‘is it licit to eliminate a human life to solve a problem? … It is not licit. Never, never eliminate a human life … to solve a problem. Abortion is never the answer that women and families are looking for.’
And just yesterday (January 20, 2021) Archbishop Gomez, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, reiterated the declaration of the U.S. bishops that abortion is for Catholics the ‘preeminent priority.’ In doing so, he acted rightly and collaboratively in his role as USCCB President, and I am grateful to him for doing so.
Preeminent does not mean “only,” of course. There are certainly many evils we must confront and many goods we must pursue. In his inaugural speech yesterday, President Biden gave a moving call to unity and healing. He offered what I would call a ‘Litany of Compassion’ – bringing before the eyes of the nation the suffering of people across a wide spectrum of issues. In my experience, advocates for unborn children also work diligently to be of service in many of these causes as well. Speaker Pelosi has chosen this week to impugn the motives of millions of Catholics and others for choosing to make voting on the issue of abortion their priority and accuses them of “selling out democracy.” This is not the language of unity and healing. She owes these voters an apology.
I myself will not presume to know what was in the minds of Catholic voters when they voted for the Presidential candidate of their choice, no matter who their preferred candidate was. There are many issues of very grave moral consequence that Catholics must weigh in good conscience when they vote. But one thing is clear: No Catholic in good conscience can favor abortion. “Right to choose” is a smokescreen for perpetuating an entire industry that profits from one of the most heinous evils imaginable. Our land is soaked with the blood of the innocent, and it must stop.
That is why, as Catholics, we will continue to speak out on behalf of those who have no voice to speak for themselves and reach out to, comfort and support those who are suffering the scars of the abortion experience. We will do so, until our land is finally rid of this despicable evil.
Virtual events aren’t all bad! The National March for Life’s live event was cancelled. So was Iowans for LIFE’s local march, so we produced a virtual event. IFL’s Virtual March for Life event took place today at the State Capital. What a great event!
You can watch the entire event on YouTube on the link above.
Here’s who we talked to
IFL Executive, Maggie DeWitte, and Board President, Tom Quiner, interviewed a rich blend of secular and religious pro life leaders, including:
- Monsignor Frank Chiodo
- Pastor Michael Demastus
- Laura Limmex, Executive Director of Restored by Grace Ministries
- State Representative, Eddie Andrews
- Kim Laube, Executive Director of Lutheran Family Services
- Pastor David Brown
In addition, State Senators Amy Sinclair and Zach Nunn sent us video messages for the event, which we have posted on our Facebook page.
It’s the 48th anniversary of Roe v Wade
Today commemorates the 48th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision which ushered an era of abortion-on-demand.
Iowans for LIFE works tirelessly educating Iowans on the dignity of the human person from fertilization to natural death. We can never let up.
Two years ago, Planned Parenthood ran an extensive billboard campaign across Iowa with a message that abortion is good for women. Iowans for LIFE and the Coalition of Iowa Pro Life Leaders responded with our pro-life billboard campaign.
New 5-figure Planned Parenthood ad-buy
Just today, Planned Parenthood announced a new five-figure ad-buy promoting the merits of abortion.
We need YOUR unrelenting financial support to keep up and produce pro-life events and content to fight back.
Iowans for LIFE promises to always, always stand in the gap for our unborn brothers and sisters.
Here’s what we need you to do:
- Participate in our events (live or virtual) and share them.
- Subscribe to this blog. Do it now. It matters.
- Share this content.
- LIKE us on social media.
- Donate
We are grateful to each of the pro-life leaders who participated in IFL’s Virtual March for Life event!
[Help us take on Planned Parenthood in the public square. Support Iowans for LIFE with your donation today. Thank-you.]
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