Sanctity of Life Prayer Service
Join Marion Citizens for Life for a Prayer Service
Stand for the unborn as we bow our heads in prayer
Location: Voice of Hope Pregnancy Resource Center
217 Center Street, Marion, OH (new location)
Date: Friday January 22nd 7 p.m.
Parking available in the adjacent city lot
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(Pregnancy Help News) A group of children a year old and younger, matching the size of cities like Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Tempe, Ariz., celebrated their first Christmas in 2015 thanks to the work of local staff and volunteers at pro-life pregnancy centers, according to statistics released by Heartbeat International.
The numbers, published in the first-annual Life Trends Report, draw only from Heartbeat International’s 1,300 locations in the U.S., but point to 160,000 lives rescued from the threat of abortion in 2015 alone.
Overall, there are 2,500 life-affirming pregnancy help centers and medical clinics in the U.S., including those who affiliate with Heartbeat International, Care Net, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), Life Matters Worldwide and local organizations who do not affiliate with broader networks.
Adding in the number of mothers who have chosen life for their babies in 2015 at pregnancy centers and medically licensed pregnancy clinics not affiliated with Heartbeat International, the number of lives saved would jump to 300,000—the size of Pittsburgh or Cincinnati.
“It is such a joy to witness the power of God’s people championing the gift and the Giver of Life every day,” Jor-El Godsey, Vice President of Heartbeat International—whose first involvement at a pregnancy center was in Fort Lauderdale in 1988, said. “No woman should ever feel so alone, coerced, or so hopeless that she ends her child’s life through abortion.
“To know something of the footprint our life-saving network is making—not to mention those life-minded centers who aren’t affiliated with us—is truly overwhelming.”
Godsey will be accompanying six pregnancy center directors, as well as the moms and babies spared from the threat of abortion at Heartbeat International’s Babies Go to Congress Jan. 21 in Washington, D.C.
Over 12 previous trips dating back to 2009, Heartbeat International has brought a total of 119 moms to tell their story of how local pregnancy help made a life-saving difference in their lives to congressional representatives and senators.
“What’s incredible to me about the overall numbers is how quickly we can overlook the value of each individual life in the context of 160,000 or 300,000 saved from abortion,” Godsey said. “Staff and volunteers at local centers, clinic, maternity homes and nonprofit adoption agencies are concentrated on just one person at a time. If we can reach that one person—that mom—with the practical help and compassionate support she deserves and is oftentimes without, we know the impact that can make.
“A report like this helps us get our arms around the positive ripple-effect pregnancy help organizations really have in our world.”
Other highlights from the report include the combined annual budget of U.S. pregnancy help centers—totaling $400 million—almost all of which is drawn from donors and foundations at the local level. Centers averaged 38 volunteers and served 531 clients per location in 2015.
Though it eventually fell short of adoption in both houses of congress, the first-ever federal resolution honoring pregnancy help organizations was introduced this November, complimenting the 24 state-level resolutions approved in 18 states in recent years.
Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), in his speech introducing the resolution, commended pregnancy help organizations for their contributions to local communities.
“The real measure of their significance isn’t in the words of a floor speech in the United States Senate, or in the outcome of a vote,” Lee said. “It’s in the thousands of lives they save from the pain of abortion every year. The millions of teachers, soldiers, nurses, friends and spouses whose lives and contributions to our communities we might never have known had it not been for the unassuming heroes down at the local pregnancy center, giving their time to keep the lights on, to answer the phones, and to help young women find the hope and the courage to choose life.”
Click here to download a copy of the 2015 Life Trends Report.
Editor’s Note: This originally appeared at Pregnancy Help News, and is reprinted here with permission.
Source: http://liveactionnews.org/pregnancy-care-centers-saved-300000-babies-from-abortion-in-2015/
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Tagged 2, 500 life-affirming pregnancy help centers and medical clinics in the U.S, Babies Go to Congress Jan. 21, joy to witness the power of God’s people championing the gift and the Giver of Life every day, lives rescued from the threat of abortion in 2015 alone, positive ripple-effect pregnancy help organizations really have in our world, thousands of lives they save from the pain of abortion every year
VISION: for every girl with an unplanned pregnancy to have a church to go to for spiritual, emotional and physical support
MISSION: to inspire and equip the church to love on single and pregnant girls
WHAT WE DO:
Embrace Grace is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed for the purpose of providing emotional, practical and spiritual support for single, young women who find themselves in an unintended pregnancy. The primary goal of Embrace Grace is to empower churches across the nation to be a safe and non-judging place for the girls to run to when they find out they are pregnant, instead of the last place they are welcomed because of shame and guilt.
We provide curriculum and resources for the church to implement our program and become a Pro-Love church. If the church, the Body of Christ, will join together to support these girls who choose life, young moms will be more open to not aborting their babies. Whether they keep their baby or choose adoption, Embrace grace is a support system for them as they begin their journey of being a young mother or blessing another family with their baby. Emotionally and spiritually healthy mommies parent emotionally and spiritually healthy babies. Through the Embrace Grace program, lives are saved and generations are being changed. God loves these babies and their mommies, and we do too.
WHY WE EXIST:
Most churches advocate life and discourage women from getting abortions, but once a brave and courageous girl chooses life, a lot of times the church then steps away and has nothing to offer her for support at that point. She is then left with nine months of being scared, worried and feeling alone. This is where the Body of Christ can minister to women who are desperately searching for a Savior.
Source: http://www.embracegrace.com/
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Tagged church to go to for spiritual, emotional, emotional and physical support, inspire and equip the church to love on single and pregnant girls, join together to support these girls who choose life, minister to women who are desperately searching for a Savior, practical and spiritual support for single, young women
Guest column: Amy Ford is the co-founder of Embrace Grace, Inc., inspiring the church to provide emotional, practical and spiritual support for single young girls who find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy.
What if girls with unplanned pregnancies ran to the church for love and support instead of away from the church because of shame and guilt?
What if the church welcomed these moms with open arms and helped them get plugged into a spiritual family?
What if churches partnered with local pregnancy centers to eradicate abortion in their community through God’s hope and love?
Churches, unfortunately, have had a reputation with moms with unintended pregnancies as a place they would never want to step foot into. These expectant moms often say, “Why would I go to church? I already feel bad enough about myself as it is – they will just make me feel worse.” These women feel as if the feelings of shame and condemnation would multiply if they opened their hearts to a pastor or member of the church. A new study by Lifeway and CareNet shows that more than 4 in 10 women who have had an abortion were churchgoers when they ended their pregnancy. That means they are sitting in the pews next to you and they do not feel as if they can share what they are going through.
But there is a shift happening – a movement of grace and love. God’s kindness is leading these brave ladies to repentance. The church is taking a new approach to change things. They want to be known more for what they are FOR than what they are against. They are FOR life – not just the life of the baby but the life of the mother, father and all family involved. They are not just pro-birth. They are for ALL life. (For more on the church and abortion, see here.)
The church is taking a fresh and new pro-love approach to welcoming moms with an unplanned pregnancy by partnering with their local pregnancy centers. A non-profit organization called Embrace Grace is leading the way, strengthening the bridge between the center and the church. Embrace Grace has a mission to inspire and equip the church to love on single and pregnant young women.
Embrace Grace is currently operating a test project that could change the way these moms think about the church. 500 “Love-In-A-Box” gifts are being handed out to young, single moms with positive pregnancy tests through 8 participating pregnancy centers in Texas and Idaho. These gifts include a baby onesie that reads “Gift from God”, a copy of the book A Bump in Life: True Stories of Hope & Courage during an Unplanned Pregnancy written by the co-founder of Embrace Grace, Amy Ford. The box also has a journal that has on the cover “You are strong. You are brave. You are loved” along with a pen and a “Loved” hair-tie. And most importantly, a sweet letter to the mom encouraging her to get plugged into the local church and be loved by a spiritual family. With incentives through Embrace Grace like a baby shower, meeting new friends in similar situations, and emotional and spiritual support through great teachings and inspiring church leaders, these brave moms are opening their heart to the idea of the church and the hope of Jesus. Each gift is wrapped in tissue and tied with a tulle bow by volunteers that prayed over each woman that receives the gift, to be filled with hope and confidence in the next season whether it be parenting or choosing adoption.
Embrace Grace has hopes that this project saves babies and mommas, encourages them while filling them with hope that God sees them, and that they get plugged into an Embrace Grace group or other safe church in their area.
Join Embrace Grace in prayer for every mom that opens her gift will feel God’s comfort and the hope of Jesus. Pray that these moms choose LIFE!
We can talk about being pro-life and what our stance on abortion, but without love, our words are just a clanging cymbal. (1 Cor. 13:1) We can put action to our words by reaching out and loving these women that may just need someone to say, “You can do it” or “You will be a great mom.” God sees them and hears their prayers, and He might use us to help be the answer.
If you are interested in starting an Embrace Grace support group at your church for young, single moms with unintended pregnancies, go to EmbraceGrace.com for more information.
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Tagged “Gift from God", “You will be a great mom.”, church for love and support, Embrace Grace, eradicate abortion in their community through God’s hope and love, Inc, Pray that these moms choose LIFE!, strengthening the bridge between the center and the church, support for single young girls who find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy
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Hi Mary —
Will you be at the March for Life this year? This theme emphasizes the reason for much of what your Susan B. Anthony List does as the political arm of the pro-life movement. Those initiatives are all about protecting the lives of unborn babies and their mothers. I hope you can be at the March for Life this year, Mary. I will be speaking at the rally prior to the March to introduce a very special video that you’ll hear more about in the weeks to come. I hope to see you there! For Life,
Marjorie Dannenfelser 
Donations can also be mailed to SBA List, 1200 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036
Contributions to Susan B. Anthony List, Inc. (SBA List), a 501(c)(4) organization, are not tax-deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes. Contributions may be used for political purposes such as supporting or opposing candidates. With your gift of $25 or more you will become a sustaining member of SBA List, and will receive information regarding the special benefits of your annual membership. All contributions are made to the general treasury of SBA List and are not designated for any particular purpose. Your contribution will be used in the sole discretion of the Officers and/or Board of Directors in accordance with the mission and purposes of SBA List. |
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| Priests for Life in the Media
January 11 – January 18 |
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| See additional radio and TV appearances of our team, and other programming details, on the online media schedule, and please spread the word!
And remember, there are many ways we can stay connected on social media, and to get an idea, visit PriestsForLife.org/SocialMedia. Along with Facebook and Twitter, you can connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Google Plus, Tumblr, Flickr and YouTube .
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By Dave Andrusko
As we approach the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I would like to dig deeper into a post I wrote about “The Abortion Stereotype,” a commentary written by Razib Khanjan that appeared in the New York Times.
There is very little in what Mr. Rhanjan had to say that would surprise pro-lifers. But—remember—this appears in the unofficial flagship publication of the Abortion Establishment. There are some good points but a few clunkers as well.
For example, referring to the stereotype that women are more pro-abortion than men are, it’s important that the Times’ readers know
The polling confounds such stereotypes. The General Social Survey, which has been tracking American opinions for decades, includes the question of whether a woman should be allowed to get an abortion if she “wants it for any reason.” In 17 of the 23 years that this question has been asked, men have answered “yes” to a greater extent than women. The average difference was about 1.5 percentage points — a small but consistent gender gap, if not the one people seem to expect.
He digs deeper
While, on the whole, there isn’t a major difference in the sexes’ attitudes toward abortion, there is one when we separate men and women by ideology. If we look at the data since 2000 (to get a more contemporary perspective), on the liberal end of the ideological spectrum men are consistently less supportive of abortion on demand than women. On the conservative end of the spectrum, it’s women who like abortion on demand less than men do.
In other words, conservative women are the most anti-abortion segment of the population, and liberal women are the most in favor of abortion rights. You might say that the more significant difference here is not between men and women, but among women.
There are many qualifications even to this generalization.
So, yes, there is a large gap between these ideologically polarized positions [“extremely liberal” women and “extremely conservative” women], but we miss a substantial proportion of the electorate if all we apprehend is the stylized cartoon. Nuance goes out the window when slogans about the “war on women” or the “liberal media” dominate public discourse. …
A greater engagement with the facts would enable those who support abortion rights to consider why so many women do not, rather than dismissing their political opponents as motivated by misogyny or false consciousness.
Two quick points, the first of which is two sided. The “war on women” was/is an imaginary construct that existed in the heads of the abortion movement but was given plausibility by its willing collaborators in the media. It appears to have run its course, but, of course, it will be dredged up using some slightly altered phraseology.
So Khanjan got the hype about the ‘war on women’ correct but chooses (perhaps to appear “balanced”) to ignore that the war on women meme would never have achieved liftoff without most of the major media treating it as if it was spot on, rather than bogus from start to finish. In fact, of course, the real war on women is sex-selection abortion which pro-abortion feminists refuse to do anything about.
Second—and I am not blaming Khanjan for not addressing it—is that members of the younger generations (male and female) are so very pro-life. We’ve run many stories in NRL News Today and NRL News demonstrating how this true, both as measured by public opinion polls and activism.
I’m going to re-post an article that I wrote way back in 2006—“More Data Showing That Young People Are Pro-Life.” While it’s older, nothing has changed, including the way the analyst of the poll taken of students at Hamilton College tries to wiggle out of the conclusion, or at least diminish the impact.
Editor’s note. If you want to peruse stories all day long, go directly to nationalrighttolifenews.org and/or follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/daveha
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Tagged 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, “war on women” was/is an imaginary construct, but among women, isn’t a major difference in the sexes’ attitudes toward abortion, more significant difference here is not between men and women, real war on women is sex-selection abortion, small but consistent gender gap
By Tamara El-Rahi
A few weeks before I knew I was pregnant, something felt different. I avoided soft cheese when offered, just in case. And I continued to wonder whether maybe, just maybe, there might be a special little life growing inside of me.
When I did take the at-home pregnancy test, my husband and I both cried and laughed with joy. We were parents! After seeing a doctor the next day to confirm, we orchestrated a set-up for our families to come over the following week and kept our mouths shut until announcing the news then. Who would have known that this “bunch of cells” inside of me could cause so much jumping and shouting and so many happy tears?
On the other hand, who knew that this tiny thing could also change my body and my life so much? I guess I had never before paid proper attention to pregnant mothers in their first trimesters, but as it turns out, babies make an impact long before they’re born.
I couldn’t eat what I normally liked and lost my appetite a lot of the time, I was absolutely exhausted, being on the go for too long made me queasy, I could smell anything whether it was a mile away or cooked in my house a week before, scents I used to like now horrified me, and there was a constant metallic taste in my mouth.
But would I change any of it? Not for the world – it’s all so worth it!
I also grew in a feeling of responsibility towards our tiny person – everything I do at the moment can affect it. What I eat, how I sleep, what activities I partake in, how I’m feeling. It’s probably a small taste of the responsibility I’ll feel when our child is born – the duty to bring it up to be healthy, happy and a good person.
We may have only been married for a few months now but my first-trimester symptoms proved to me even more that I had chosen a good husband. I was sick and worn out but I didn’t have to worry about my share of the household duties – his already protective nature ramped up and he’s been looking after me, making me rest and cooking for me (after his full day of work and post-work activities, even when it was I who generally gets home first). And although this was so tiring for him, I’m so impressed that he’s still willing to stick to our dreams of a big family.
We experienced our first ultrasound at nine weeks, and we just couldn’t believe what we were seeing. How can anyone say that a fetus isn’t a human being until it leaves the womb? We could already see our little one’s arms and legs moving around, the tiny heart beating, and could even see the way it rested in a holiday-esque style with its arms behind its head. What a little miracle!
I look at my mother, after nine pregnancies, with new and admiring eyes. My mother-in-law, my aunties, my friends – even mothers and pregnant women I see on the street: I applaud them all. How impressive for women to carry on, working, living, loving, while dealing with the often uncomfortable symptoms of pregnancy.
But even amongst all the “weakness” of the symptoms I’m experiencing, I feel strong. I feel in awe that my body can support the growth of a child and will know how to nourish it once it’s born.
Sure, my body might never be the same again, the worry will set in and I might never have another good night’s sleep – but for now my skin’s glowing, I get to carry my child around with me all the time, and life is full of the excitement of wondering what our baby will be like.
How cool is that?!
Editor’s note. This appeared at www.mercatornet.com.
Source: http://www.nationalrighttolifenews.org/news/2016/01/pregnancy-an-everyday-miracle/#.VpUOzYdgmM8
By Emily Derois, graduate, 2015 National Right to Life Academy
Emily Derois
This past summer I left my little town in Pennsylvania and journeyed to Washington D.C. with one intent: to learn how to become a voice for the voiceless. Just what this entailed, I had no idea. The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and the Knights of Columbus Council 15351 generously offered me partial scholarships to attend the National Right to Life Academy. So with only a basic understanding of what the next five weeks would hold, I applied. Now that the experience is over and my work completed, I would heartily recommend the academy to any students interested in the pro-life movement.
Empowering Youth
We live in a society so focused on being politically correct, most of us hesitate to take a stance against the injustice of abortion and euthanasia. Yet it is imperative that we defend the unborn and helpless. If you’re anything like me, these grand words are too abstract and distant. After all, what can the average student actually do to make any real impact? The academy empowers the youth, as they teach practical and real strategies that further the movement.
Life at the Academy
The academy is held in Washington D.C., at the National Right to Life headquarters. The course involves five fast-paced weeks of reading, practicum, and hearing from leaders in the pro-life movement. The topics covered deal not only with abortion, but also physician-assisted suicide, stem-cell research, and the history of the pro-life movement. I found the pro-life movement’s history surprisingly helpful, as you recognize the mistakes made and learn from the implications of these failed strategies. There is also a weekend spent learning Robert’s Rules of Order, providing students with the skills to conduct structured meetings. After this brief course in parliamentary procedure, you will become a registered member of The National Association of Parliamentarians. The five weeks is well utilized, as each subject is studied in depth. Each of the students left confident in our thorough understanding of these core life issues.
Learning from the Leaders
Leaders in the movement, such as Dr. David Prentice and Burke Balch, give the lectures. And the practicums prepare each student to successfully defend life against every attack used by abortion advocates. Several times a day, the student will give an impromptu speech or answer pro-abortion questions while being filmed. The videos are replayed so the student can hear and see his or her arguments and receive advice. Although the initial thought of practicum was intimidating, this is an extremely helpful and necessary preparation. It is a very friendly environment, and the criticism is constructive. Everyone is trying to achieve the same goal, and the focus is on giving you the skills needed to effectively defend the helpless.
An Invitation to Students
Some state affiliates of NRLC offer scholarships to help students defray the tuition for the Academy as the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation did for me. Students can e-mail academy@nrlc.org to find out which states offer scholarships. National Right to Life equips students with the knowledge and skills to become leaders in the pro-life movement. You can apply and find further information about this course by visiting National Right to Life’s website at: www.nrlc.org/academy.
Editor’s note. This first appeared at squarespace.com.
wyandotcountyrightolife 