Scott Zipperle

Many believe culture is completely controlled by those with more liberal beliefs – not true! In many songs, be it intentional or not, one can find the beauty of standing up for life. Here are three of my favorites: First up, Marc Cohn’s ode to an unborn child: “The Things We’ve Handed Down”

 

Next up, country star Matt Kennon, on the importance of reaching out to our friends and loved ones

 

Lastly this song is by former “Kansas” lead singer and producer John Elefante who partnered with Online for Life (http://ThisTimeForKeeps.com) to produce his newest single “This Time.” The video shares the story of his adopted daughter’s birth, and in the process, brings attention to Online for Life (OFL), an educational non-profit working to rescue babies from abortion so they can live to make their mark on the world.

 

When you see a movie or play, hear a song or read a book that supports the pro-life message – let the creators of those vehicles hear from you.  For more on entertainment and culture check out Movie to Movement.

Also tweet to us @March_for_Life your favorite pro-life song and maybe we can highlight it in a future blog post.

As an update to an earlier blog post, thanks to a judge’s decision at least a dozen abortuaries in Texas aren’t going to be doing abortions today or for a while.  This is a good thing:

 

Opponents and supporters of an abortion bill demonstrated outside the Texas Capitol in July.

The Associated Press

Published: 31 October 2013 06:36 PM

Updated: 01 November 2013 12:00 AM

 

AUSTIN — A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that most of Texas’ tough new abortion restrictions can take effect immediately — a decision that means at least 12 clinics won’t be able to perform the procedure starting as soon as Friday.

 

A panel of judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said the law requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital can take effect while a lawsuit challenging the restrictions moves forward. The panel issued the ruling three days after District Judge Lee Yeakel said the provision serves no medical purpose and issued an injunction against it.

 

The appeals court panel acknowledged that the provision “may increase the cost of accessing an abortion provider and decrease the number of physicians available to perform abortions.” However, the panel said the U.S. Supreme Court has held that having “the incidental effect of making it more difficult or more expensive to procure an abortion cannot be enough to invalidate” a law that serves a valid purpose, “one not designed to strike at the right itself.”

More . . .

Just in from a friend on the Hill:

Yesterday, the D.C. HealthLink posted a new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) clarifying which plans on the D.C. HealthLink will cover elective abortions and which ones will not.  This information is consistent with information from other sources. The FAQ says:

 

Question: Which health plans offered through DC Health Link include coverage for elective abortions and which plans do not?

Answer: Health plans that do not provide coverage for elective abortions include all Aetna health plans, as well as the multi-state plans (MSP) offered by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (only the plans that include “Multi-State Plan” in their name).   All health plans offered by Kaiser Permanente, United Healthcare, and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield plans that do not include “Multi-State Plan” in their name include coverage for elective abortions.

 

Background: This FAQ was made available in response to an article by  Anna Higgins, Director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council.  Anna tried to identify which plans in the D.C. HealthLink excluded abortion.  Telephone representatives for the D.C. HealthLink erroneously informed Anna that all plans on the D.C. exchange include elective abortion.  When Anna published her article about her experience, she was quickly contacted by D.C. officials who apologized, gave the information included in the FAQ, and informed her that their staff would be retrained on the subject. The FAQ is a step in the right direction although abortion coverage is still not easily identifiable when browsing plans on the D.C. exchange.

 

Such lack of transparency regarding abortion coverage is not isolated to D.C.  It has proven to be a nearly universal problem in the exchanges.  Even Secretary Sebelius was unable to give a clear answer on the subject when asked by Rep. John Shimkus at the Energy and Commerce Hearing yesterday.  To address this problem, Rep. Chris Smith has introduced the “Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act”, H.R. 3279.  This bill would reverse the secrecy clause in the ACA and require that all plans on the exchanges disclose whether or not the plan includes abortion.  If the plan includes abortion, the plan must also disclose the amount of the abortion surcharge. 

As much of the debate in DC the last few weeks has been either focused on the disastrous roll out of the health care law commonly known as Obamacare or instead on Conservative efforts of defunding said law.   One thing that has not been getting the attention it deserves is the un-Constitutional mandate that the law allows in relation to conscience.  The anti-conscience mandate within Obamacare forces employees to provide coverage for abortifacients and contraceptives on unwilling employers. Many employers—religious, secular, nonprofit, and for-profit—believe it violates the free exercise of their faith to comply with this mandate.

Even before Obamacare’s official debut (or sort of debut because supposedly it is delayed some more according to some sources, but not really.  I guess we will leave it up to the IRS to figure that out) there were companies and individuals being adversely affected by the Obama mandate against conscience.  These are real people, who employ a lot of individuals.  All of whom are being forced to decide between their deeply held principles or their livelihood – all in the name of the Obama administration and their allies drive to force everyone to subsidize their fascination with condoms and abortion.

There are currently 75 cases and over 200 plaintiffs.  Here are some of their stories.

One affected company is the American Manufacturing Company (AMC) based in St. Josephs, Minnesota.   AMC is owned by Gregory Hall, a Roman Catholic Deacon and opposes devices or medications that purposefully end innocent human life.  His company manufactures and markets mining equipment, mud pumps and parts, for distribution worldwide.  AMC came to international renown after the Copiago mining accident in Chile in October, 2010.  It was Deacon Hall and his company that assisted in the successful design and implementation of the plan which aided in the successful rescue of thirty-three trapped Chilean miners.  Prior to the crushing mandate Deacon Hall made it a point to make sure his medical plans did not violate the religious beliefs of him and many of his employees.  Now that President Obama is trying to force him to ignore those principles and to include contraception, sterilization and abortifacients in his company medical plans or face financial ruin due to steep government penalties. 

Another company under the mandate’s boot heels is Grote Industries, based in southern Indiana.  Grote Industries was founded in 1901 and has been a family owned business throughout its long existence.  The Grote family seeks to run their business in accordance with their faith and the company’s website clearly states “We still hold firm to the family values and work ethics set forth by our founder all those years ago.”  These are the same family values the Obama Administration is looking to crush.

You might not recognize the Grote Industries name however if you have ever driven safely in an automobile it is likely them you have to thank for it.  Grote Industry has been a pioneer in plastics and injection molding and in 1922 they produced the nation’s first injection molded plastic products.  They are seen as a leader in the industry and have earned a reputation as “the first name in vehicle safety systems.”  If the Obama Administration has its way not only will an over century owned family business need to close its doors but close to 500 full time employees will likely lose their jobs.

To read more about some of these principled companies please check out the Becket Fund’s HHS Information Central web site.  Also please contact your Member of Congress and ask them to do all they can to pass legislation that puts the principles of many over the politics of the few.