The following editorial is by Maureen Ferguson, Senior Policy Advisor, The Catholic Association.

Any mother remembers that moment in the delivery room (or during the sneak peak at the 20-week ultrasound) when her doctor announces after months of suspense, “It’s a girl!” or “It’s a boy!” This is one of the most joyful moments of a mother’s life.

How heartbreaking, then, to think of the mothers who have been clients at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, site of the fourth undercover video exposing Planned Parenthood’s callous operations.

“Another boy!” wryly announces a Planned Parenthood official, while literally standing over a petri dish dissecting the little boy, separating out his aborted body parts, in this case the trademark parts that identify this little one as male.

Our abortion culture has led us to a place that is beyond heartbreaking. Heartbreaking that so many little lives, with amazing potential, have been snuffed out. Heartbreaking that so many women have been so deeply wounded by a culture that offers abortion as a solution to the challenges of a crisis pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards has penned a defense of its practices in the Washington Post, referring to her operation as a “trusted” provider of “high-quality, nonjudgmental, compassionate care” for women.

Compassionate? Planned Parenthood’s Dr. Savita Ginde asks in a decidedly non-compassionate manner during the dissection, “Do people do stuff with eyeballs?” When they have trouble locating brain tissue in the petri dish, Dr. Ginde remarks casually, “Usually you can see the whole brain usually come out.”

As a solution she suggests perhaps she can train her providers to abort “a bit more gentle.” That way, Dr. Ginde says, looking at the mess in the petri dish, “I don’t think it would be as war-torn.” In her own words, this little boy’s body is war-torn.

Trusted high-quality care? Ms. Richards bewails that her organization has been secretly taped without consent. It is highly ironic that the tapes reveal top Planned Parenthood doctor’s willingness to change the method of abortion, without a woman’s consent, to better access fetal organs with the “less crunchy” technique. This lack of consent is unethical, against the law, and couldn’t be called high-quality trustworthy care for women.

The abortion lobby and Ms. Richards response to these grisly videos is to chalk it up to the unpleasantness of details of any surgical procedure, “medical and scientific conversations can be upsetting to hear.” Only the willfully ignorant will fall for that defense. While there is certainly a yuck-factor in hearing the medical details of an appendectomy, it is not comparable to the deep sadness and moral revulsion engendered by the blatant disregard for the humanity of the little boy in this video, and the deep disrespect for the dignity of his mother. Ditto for all the other women who find themselves in a Planned Parenthood clinic, but deserve so much better.

Maureen Ferguson is Senior Policy Advisor to The Catholic Association.
Used with permission.

Most people probably have some notion of what abortion involves. The reality can be quite different.

You can read more at the Center for Medical Progress.

Below are the latest videos from the Center for Medical Progress. The first one may be a duplicate of an earlier video, since the titling isn’t consistent from place to place and it’s somewhat confusing, but we believe two more have been released.

You can read more at the Center for Medical Progress.

In a new video just released by the Center for Medical Progress, a former clinical worker at StemExpress described her job of identifying pregnant women “who met criteria for fetal tissue orders and to harvest fetal body parts after their abortions.”

Holly O’Donnell, a licensed phlebotomist, said she “unsuspectingly took a job as a ‘procurement technician’” at the fetal tissue company StemExpress, which was allegedly the primary buyer of fetal body parts from Planned Parenthood.

She said she fainted on her first day on the job when she was asked to dissect a “freshly aborted” baby.

Read the rest at Breitbart.com.

A second video allegedly showing a senior Planned Parenthood official negotiating for fetal tissue and fetal parts for profit has been released.

In the video, released by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), Dr. Mary Gatter, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s for-profit Medical Directors’ Council, is seen haggling over prices of fetal parts.

Read the rest at Life Site News.

An antiabortion group on Tuesday released an undercover video of an official at Planned Parenthood discussing in graphic detail how to abort a fetus to preserve its organs for medical research — as well as the costs associated with sharing that tissue with scientists.

Over lunch at a Los Angeles restaurant, two antiabortion activists posing as employees from a biotech firm met with Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical research. Armed with cameras, the activists recorded Nucatola talking about Planned Parenthood’s work donating fetal tissue to researchers and pressed her on whether the clinics were charging for the organs.

Read the complete article at The Washington Post.

The Life Education and Resource Network (LEARN), the largest African American pro-life network in America, sent a team of 14 African Americans to the campus of Fayetteville State College in North Carolina.

Fayetteville State College is a historically black college so it was with great expectation LEARN and a team of eight from the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform walked with dignity and Christian love for an absolutely incredible history-making three days! It was outstanding!

Many students thanked us for coming and were shocked by their own misunderstandings on abortion. The students received a new revelation of the personhood of the unborn.

Margaret Sanger’s method of using a religious approach to hide her eugenic plot was an insightful one. In our exchanges with hundreds of students, and with the golden opportunity to debate over the campus radio station, it was quite evident faith is still vital in the presentation of the truth in the pro-life debate.

In the final analysis, we see that a very high percentage of the African American students consider their faith as important and that abortion is a violation of their faith.
Hearts were won and opinions changed!

Rev. Leonard Childress is a member of the Life Education Council Board of Advisers.
He is Founder and Director of Black Genocide.org and Pastor of New Calvary Baptist Church, Montclair, NJ

To read the full article go to: “All Black Life Matters” Project.

ABC Breaking US News | US News Videos

I mentioned Lauren Hill in my February 14th post, Choose Life / Choose Death. Lauren passed away on April 10th. Respect Life Weekly Update has the news:

LAUREN HILL, who was an inspiration to millions of people around the world with her life-affirming fight against a rare form of brain cancer has passed away on April 10, 2015. Lauren posed a study in contrast compared to those who push for assisted suicide in the wake of BRITTYANY MAYNARD’S death, and ultimately raised millions for cancer research as the basketball player played her way into our hearts.

Bill Draghi is one of the unsung heroes of the pro-life movement. He is a retired math teacher/computer programmer, married with five children and grandchildren. Six years after his retirement, Bill was inspired to do sidewalk counseling at the American Women’s Services abortion clinic located at 228 Main St. in Woodbridge, NJ.

He was so taken by his experience during a “40 Days For Life” commitment that he decided to continue to do sidewalk counseling all year round. Bill is at this clinic virtually every day despite any and all weather conditions. He is present there in the bitterest cold winter days and during the hottest humid sultry days of summer. His schedule coincides with all the hours that this clinic is opened.

When the forces of evil are there doing their work of killing the unborn, Bill is there with his three sandwich-sized pro-life signs, praying. Two of them are on each of his left and right flanks fastened with cords around his neck and a third at his back. One says, “Thou Shalt Not Kill,” another “Choose Life – Let Your Baby Live” and the third reads, “Adoption Not Abortion.” Bill holds a fourth larger sign about 36” by 54” with his extended left hand. This larger one is framed with PVC piping and rests on the sidewalk. One side shows a photo of a three month old baby, and faces the heavy traveled Main St. road in Woodbridge, while the other side faces the abortion clinic and shows a picture of an 8 week old unborn child and has the words inscribed on it, “Heartbeat at 22 Days”. Bill also holds a rather large crucifix in his right hand which is about 14 inches high and gets heavier to hold with time so he rests it on the top of the PVC frame.

This clinic is not really conducive for close contact with the women and men entering the building. When facing this abortion mill there is a driveway entrance on the left. Virtually all must enter the driveway and park in the rear parking lot. There is a side entrance to the building which is used for entry. The only legal access for sidewalk counselors at this location to interface with those seeking an abortion is to shout out to those going into the abortion mill. Bill usually cries out, “Please save your baby. No one has to kill their baby. There is help for you and your baby ma’am.”

Bill has been present there for the past six years as a witness that it is wrong to kill the unborn. I try to be with Bill for an hour or so each week, usually on a Friday or Saturday. He is a remarkable man. I sense in Bill a saintly and humble soul. We pray together and talk about various topics dealing mostly with pro-life issues. Bill actually keeps a record of how many women enter this abortion clinic and how many changed their minds about having an abortion.

He indicated to me that about 70 to 80 go in there for an abortion each week. He estimates that about half going in for an abortion are Black, one third are Caucasian and the remainder are Hispanics and Indians who are about evenly divided. When I asked him about the number of babies saved through his counseling he humbly answers, “I can only count as saves those women who come up to tell me they have changed their minds about having an abortion and they usually say it is because of me being there and seeing my signs or they and/or their escorts give me a thumbs up.” So in the six years of prayer and sacrifice that Bill has made being at that abortion mill day after day, year after year enduring brutal winters and hot humid summers, he can claim that 150 babies were saved.

About three months ago Bill told me this inspiring story. Earlier that very day a car parked in front of the clinic, a woman came out and opened the door on the rear passenger side to take a little boy out of the car. This mother told Bill that, “I was going in there to abort my child a little over four years ago. You were there like you are now telling me to save my baby. I was so moved that I changed my mind and left. Here is my four year old son. I wanted you to know this and thank you.” I asked Bill what was the boy’s name, Bill responded with a beaming smile. “Manuel, and he is a good looking kid.”

I have been blessed to meet this saintly pro-life hero and have a deep and abiding respect for him and have asked Bill to pray for me. “For the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)