Welcome to The Vine, where every week I strive to bring you updates from around the pro-life community to help you keep up with the ever constant battle to save lives. If you aren’t plugged-in, it is my sincere hope that The Vine will allow you to get familiar with those on the front lines and find your place among them.
Is there anyone more flummoxing than pro-choice Catholics? While many Protestants attempt to skirt around the Word, performing mental gymnastics to ignore God’s obvious pro-life message, pro-choice Catholics must turn a blind eye to the Bible and ignore the Pope! It must be exhausting and Pope Francis isn’t allowing them to catch their breath. In a speech on Saturday to the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors, the pope reaffirmed his commitment to speaking out in support of the sanctity of life stating, “There is no human life more sacred than another: all human life is sacred!” Additionally, according to Life Site News, Pope Francis warned that the doctors may have to make courageous choices, in standing for life, that could lead to conscientious objection.
The pope’s call to remain vigilant in the face of a society that promotes abortion and euthanasia as “compassionate” and “dignified,” took place one day after a group of priests in the United States vowed to do just that. After the DC Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled that the pro-life organization Priests for Life must provide birth control for its employees, the group released a statement which read, in part, that they will not ever obey the mandate. National Director of Priests for Life Father Frank Pavone told The Washington Times, “To ask a group of priests to cooperate in the government’s plan to expand access to birth control and abortion-inducing drugs is about as contrary to religious freedom as you can get.”
While Priests for Life will move on to federal court, Democrats in DC continue to try to force pro-life groups to pay for abortion through another law. According to Alliance Defending Freedom’s Casey Mattox, writing at The Washington Times:
Bill 20-790, introduced by D.C. Council member David Grosso, would prohibit “discrimination” by any employer on the basis of a “reproductive health decision.” It specifically includes, euphemistically, “termination of a pregnancy” as part of the protected “reproductive health decision[s].” Importantly, it prohibits discrimination in the “compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” on the basis of such a decision.
Grosso’s bill makes no exceptions for religious or moral objections to abortion and would apply to groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom, Americans United for Life, and March for Life. However, Mattox contends the bill is illegal and will likely be nothing more than a waste of taxpayer money. Despite its destiny to fail, the bill is worthy to note as further evidence that Democrats will stop at nothing in their attempts to further their radical abortion plans.
Fortunately, thanks to the success of the mid-term elections, Congress is no longer beholden to the pro-abortion party. As Cortney O’Brien writes at RedState, the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act will finally have a chance to be voted on now that [mc_name name=’Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’R000146′ ] cannot hide the pro-life legislation on his desk anymore. New Majority Leader [mc_name name=”Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)” chamber=”senate” mcid=”M000355″ ] has said the Senate will vote on the bill, which would ban abortions after 5 months; the time at which science has determined babies feel pain in the womb.
Hopefully, after the passage of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, we can continue moving forward to protect unborn babies and their mothers at a rate consistent with views of the majority of the American public. With the latest research out of Chile proving that legal abortions are no safer for women than illegal abortions, it is time for our country to accept that making abortion illegal is the best way to protect American women and children.
Until next week, I pray blessings for you and for all committed to life in The Vine. Please feel free to email or tweet me with any stories you’d like to see covered or any organizations you’d like to see as the Branch For Life. And don’t forget to check out The Vine’s list on Twitter to stay up-to-date on current news in the pro-life movement!
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