I wish to inform you of a few things as we are on the cusp of Respect Life Month. Please check the Upcoming Activities tab for opportunities to participate. Herein, I present info related to the outstanding efforts by a few pro-life organizations so that you might be encouraged, but also exhorted to play a more active role as we demand respect for the life and dignity of every person in all stages and conditions of life.

Before I go on, I want to reaffirm my belief in the sanctity of human life and that all lives have meaning and purpose. I have had the honor to see that belief reaffirmed by abortion survivors who declare that they were real persons in the womb; by children born of a pregnancy resulting from rape who might have been aborted, who declare the value of their lives; by people born with Down Syndrome who could have been aborted, who are loved and happy; by a woman who was born with no arms, who works and drives a van with her feet; and by a man born with no arms and no legs who lives a happy, productive and inspiring life; and how about you and me, we could have been aborted…and do not our lives also matter ?

Let us ask the question of who has the right to terminate a life based on assumptions about the value of that life. Let us answer that question from our hearts as we ponder whether it could have been your life or mine that was terminated, and who had the right to make that decision.

Turning to the efforts of those who believe that every life has value that must be respected, I first call your attention to the Texas Alliance for Life led by Joe Pojman: you must visit https://www.texasallianceforlife.org/post-roe-texas-video-series/ I especially call attention to the lecture on “The Beauty Behind the Biology of Conception.” If you do not know, this is the organization that sponsors the Texas Rally for Life every January. Start preparing in November to fill a bus and be there for this event !

The Abortion Survivors Network, led by Melissa Ohden, a true force of nature, has continued to be busy changing hearts and minds. Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSEFonKaP3M and this interview on Fox and Friends https://www.foxnews.com/video/6337859595112 and explore the web site: https://abortionsurvivors.org/ You will be changed.

Another force of nature is Teresa Strack who leads LifeFirst. The effort of LifeFirst is to change the culture of abortion through education and creating the pro-life leaders of tomorrow. They have the most creative and innovative methods: https://lifefirst.org/when-does-life-begin-faqs/ Explore the web site and be impressed.

Adding to our list of forces of nature is Kristin Hawkins and her incredible team at Students for Life https://studentsforlife.org/ You are invited to attend this webinar: “Join us on Wednesday, October 11th at 8pm ET for our webinar, Abortion and Personhood: Aren’t the Preborn People, too? featuring neuroscientist and associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Dr. Katrina Furth.” https://studentsforlife.org/webinar/

I would be remiss in honorable mentions if I did not applaud Shawn Carney and the 40 Days for Life teams and their fall and spring campaigns. What a huge impact they make worldwide, much to the consternation of pro-abortion factions that constantly attack them! https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/

I apologize to all my other friends, pro-life leaders and all those I cannot mention at this time.

We need these leaders and their teams of dedicated pro-life warriors because the top level leadership of our country has set the goal of codifying the essence of the Roe decision into federal law permitting abortion nationwide at any stage of pregnancy for any reason. If the pro-abortion faction, which is rooted in bigotry, corruption, and pursuit of financial gain, has control of both houses of congress and the presidency, then all of our gains in the movement for respect for life and the dignity of every person will be wiped out.

In my recent talks, I point out that, in order to minimize the number of women seeking an abortion, we must do all of the things we are doing to change the hearts and minds, but we also must do something new. In my book, I discuss the data on why women seek an abortion. Whereas I cannot go into much detail here, the major reasons are connected to poverty, ignorance, jobs, education, housing, and lack of support by the father and/or family, and the latter arises out of the deterioration of the nuclear family.

We must have social reforms that lead us to respect and honor pregnant women and to provide answers to their concerns that do not include abortion. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) already enforces laws that make it illegal to fire or otherwise discriminate against workers on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which took effect June 27, 2023, requires covered employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an “undue hardship.” The EEOC is required to issue regulations to carry out the law.

One can see immediately that the law does not go far enough. It does not address the issue of lost wages due to complications from pregnancy, the need to be off work at times to care for a baby, the issues of lost pay when needing to care for the baby, the cost of day care, loss of seniority in a job position, and it leaves many women in jeopardy due to the issue of “covered employers” and the loophole of “undue hardship.”

The EEOC has also proposed a regulation within the PWFA that would require employers to accommodate employees who choose to get abortions, such as by giving them leave to obtain one. https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act One can follow links on that page. The Catholic Bishops have also objected to that proposal and provide a way for us also to object. https://www.votervoice.net/USCCB/Campaigns/107379/Respond

To conclude my comments in this post, I call attention to the conversation among Republican candidates on the subject of abortion. Whereas there is much to be said, and so much so that I cannot go into it here, one can search “Republican candidates on abortion” and find a plethora of comments by many agencies. I will only say that one prominent candidate advanced the proposition of a federal law requiring a nationwide ban on abortions after the baby can feel pain. Although purportedly to protect life by limiting abortions in this manner across the nation, that proposition does nothing to address the fact that the growing baby is a person. Nobody on either side of the issue would be happy with such a ridiculous and naive proposition in any case.

So, I finish by noting that our activism is essential, our opinions must be expressed, and we must vet our political candidates for their determination to protect the dignity of every human life in all conditions and circumstances.

Now is also the time for the pro-life movement to lead the way in demanding social reforms that are pro-woman and provide an answer for pregnant women in situations that drive them to abortion. When pregnant women are respected and honored and have the resources that preserve the options that non-pregnant women have, the women themselves will protect their babies.