Gregoire No Show at NARAL Fundraiser

Speculation abounds as to why Gov. Christine Gregoire was not in attendance at this morning's Power of Choice breakfast at the Seattle Sheraton to raise money for pro-abortion candidates.

She was the keynote speaker afterall.

About 35 pro-lifers were out in force to remind the folks who were in attendance what "choice" is all about. There were seveal "thank yous" and thumbs-up from drivers and passers-by. Employees of the Seattle Police Department and the Sheraton were supportive of the pro-lifers.

Many of the pro-abortion politicians in attendance exited from back doors so as to avoid the graphic signs and public shaming.

More later...

Update May 31: Senator Maria Cantwell stood in for Gregoire at the event, which raised over $52,000 for pro-abortion candidates. Will your representative receive some of this money?

The pro-lifers were lined in the front of the Sheraton and two blocks on either side. The grande dame of Seattle's pro-abortion political and media elite, Karen Cooper of NARAL, exited through a front side entrance and came face to face with the graphic signs. (The woman in black appeared to be with the event.)

Fr. Ed Bloom of Holy Family parish was interviewed by a reporter.

The most common comment made by pro-abortionists to the pro-lifers was, "You should be ashamed of yourself." I guess being pro-life is just too unfashionable for these folks. Two other pro-abortion women who were waiting for the street sign to change made the comment, "Some people are just really sick," hoping I would over hear them. I did.

Many pro-lifers got up at crack of dawn to attend this event and show their support for unborn babies and their moms. Silent No More Awareness was represented by Nancy Johnson and others who could only be there in prayer. (You know who you are!)

I'll try to get some pictures up in a little while.

Youth and Ambition: The Saga of Adam Smith

"Choice" as a euphemism for abortion is so passé that even the abortion lobby admits they need to come up with new words to describe the killing of infants and those who defend the practice. They constantly try on new shades of lipstick, like moderate, personal responsibility, independent, moderate on social issues, defies labels, mainstream, and the like.


So what to make of the Seattle Times calling Adam Smith (WA-D) a "Raging Moderate"?
From reading this article you'd think he was a "mainstream" Republican.

He's also a vice chairman of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of 44 moderate House members who champion economic growth and fiscal responsibility.

Egads! He's a fiscal conserative. Maybe the Mainstreamers can recruit him to switch parties. The rest of you republicans remember what Ronald Reagan said, "My 80-percent friend is not my 20-percent enemy". Whoops. I guess he didn't say that after all.

They don't mention his position on abortion, which is anything but moderate. He's never met an abortion he didn't like and has a 100% pro-abortion voting record. He supports partial birth abortion, doesn't believe in parental notification or informed consent. Yet, his web site doesn't even mention this unbridled support for abortion and he had the nerve to tell voters in his district he "doesn't like abortion."

Maybe his constituents don't have the same enthusiasm for abortion as he does.

He's writing a book called "Youth and Ambition."

It's about a young man who wants desperately to make a difference, to make his mark on the world, and is desperately afraid he won't be able to," said Smith, explaining the book and himself in one sharp bite.

I guess when you're young and ambitious you aren't going to let non-voters get in your way.

How sad that this man who was conceived when innocent human life was still protected under law, and given to his uncle and aunt for love and care after his birth can't see that he is in the midst of the greatest human rights struggle the world has ever know; a struggle that is begging for people -- of any age or station in life -- to make their mark and make a lasting contribution to the common humanity of us all. Most likely history will pass Adam Smith by. His only legacy will be page in a book of historical wannabes who tried to made their mark by taking blood money to further their own pragmatic and empty agendas.

(Photo: Adam Smith leaving NARAL abortion lobby fundraiser at Seattle Sheraton May, 30, 2007 to fund more politicians to fund more abortion.)

Scientists and Elites Meet to Further Creation of Animal-Human Hybrids

Among other things...

1. Legality and funding of research using cell lines from excess IVF embryos
2. Legality and funding of research doing new derivations from IVF
3. Legality and funding of research using cell lines from made-for-research embyos created either by IVF or SCNT
4. Legality and funding of new derivations by making IVF or SCNT embryos
5. Legality and funding of creation of hybids
6. Leglity and fundig of creation of chimeras
7. Specific provisions for informed consent from (a) embryos donors and (b) gamete (especially oocyte) donors
8. Donor control of downstream research
10. Conflict of interest provisions regarding doctors and investigators involved in embryo or gamete donation
11. Compensation for injury of gamete donors

The two-day meeting of representatives from 10 state stem cell programs is intended to create the Interstate Alliance for Stem Cell Research. The meeting was an outgrowth of a similar session in Connecticut in March. Among the goals of the California meeting were creating opportunities for collaboration among different states' stem cell programs and harmonizing regulations from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Which reminds me of an article I read not too long ago...

THE Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the creation of Planet of the Apes-style warriors by crossing humans with apes, according to recently uncovered secret documents.

Moscow archives show that in the mid-1920s Russia's top animal breeding scientist, Ilya Ivanov, was ordered to turn his skills from horse and animal work to the quest for a super-warrior.

I can't find that this article or the information contained in it appeared anywhere in the U.S. mainstream press.

It's not Stalin or Hitler or men in military uniforms who are forcing this reality on us now. Instead it is smiling men and women in white lab coats, maybe a tie and jacket here and there, from the best schools (even your school) and best places with only the best intentions who are promising us eternal happiness if we just let them play God.

WA GOP to Voters: You gotta pay if you wanna play

Or in the words of Luke Esser, Washington State's GOP chairman,

I think it's incumbent upon Republicans and those who are not in favor of the gay marriage agenda to be ready to raise the money they need to win elections in the future.

Don't expect the GOP to do the right thing and put up candidates who are pro-life and pro-family unless you've got the funds to back them.

Where's Reichert?

The National Right to Life Committee put some effort and dollars into Washington state to help re-elect Dave Reichert last year against a challenge from the rabid pro-abortion Darcy Bruner.

So where is Reichert now that we need him?

He's already voted in favor of H.B. 1592, the so-called "hate crimes" bill. Now his name is conspicuously absent from a list of representatives notifying President Bush that they would support his veto of any pro-abortion legislation.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) was the only Washington state legislator to sign the letter. Am I missing someone?

If the Washington state GOP thought 2006 was bad, it's only just begun.

How Abortionists Celebrate Mother's Day

When this came across my desk by email I thought is was a clever parody of Washington's leading abortionist activist group, but alas it is a serious event. After their "Screw Abstinence" party (which they recently did to our state schools) and "Chocolates for Choice" (which included chocolate from Chocolate 2 Die 4) fundraisers, nothing should surprise us. They are completely satire proof.

Take Your Daughter to NARAL Day
In honor of Mother's Day, come find out how you can pass the pro-choice torch on to the next generation at "TAKE YOUR DAUGHTER TO NARAL DAY."

Bring the special young woman in your life to NARAL Pro-Choice Washington for a cheese and chocolate Mother's Day celebration. [More chocolate. Why play into the stereotypes about women and candy when they could host a cigar and golf outing.]

Learn about all the amazing opportunities that NARAL Pro-Choice Washington offers for young women to become involved in the movement for reproductive rights, health and justice. Who can attend? You and your daughter (or granddaughter, niece, mentee, etc.) [Your son's girlfriend perhaps? The neighbor girl?]

This event will be at the office of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington on Thursday, May 10 from 5:30-7:00pm. [Why not at the local abortion mill?]

Please RSVP no later than Tuesday, May 8.

For some reason they don't have this event posted on their web site.

It would appear from this email as though they are having a hard time getting young women to volunteer for their particular brand of activism. I suppose it's hard to get excited about working for a group whose product you'd never want to use.

What will they dream up for Halloween?

Washington Goes to Mr. Smith

Attempting to capitalize on the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding a federal ban on partial-birth abortion, the abortion gals at Washington NARAL have gone to their direct mail lists and sent out a spate of emails and direct mail pieces to rake in some dough for their continued lobbying in support of legalized killing.

As Michelle at Life of the Party points out, some of that lobbying is targeting what proponants of abortion call "mixed-choice" Republicans. Currently they have Gordon Smith (R-OR) in their sights. She also notes that Gordon Smith is a member of the Republican Mainstreet Parternship, a front group for pro-choice republicans; Because you know abortion clinics are as apple pie as the hardware store, the corner coffee shop and the friendly credit union on mainstreet. Their Washington state affiliate can be found here.

They need Gordon Smith to help them pass the Freedom of Choice Act. As they describe it in their email,

The Freedom of Choice Act is legislation that would codify Roe v. Wade into law, and guarantee the right to choose for generations to come. Washington State's fabulous senators and representatives in DC get it and they are on board.

It would also bring back partial birth abortion.

But to get it passed they are going to need help from the Republicans,

However, we are going to help our sisters in Oregon put pressure on their Senator, Gordon Smith, a moderate, mixed-choice Republican. We think that if he gets enough pressure, he may support the Freedom of Choice Act. Please sign-up to help today. Freedom of Choice Act phone banks will run during the following days and times:

Monday, May 14 from 5:00 to 8:00pm
Tuesday, May 15 from 5:00 to 8:00pm
Wednesday, May 16 from 5:00 to 8:00pm
Thursday, May 17 from 5:00 to 8:00pm

Washington abortion enthusiasts are making calles to an Oregon senator. Got that?

Senator Smith -- don't answer your phone.

Republicans for Choice Identifies Westcoast Field Director for Electing Pro-abortion Republicans

Michelle has the full story at Life of the Party.

Bottom line: If you are pro-life, voting for the person with the (R) beside their name will not result in a pro-life majority. Voters will need to know more about a candidate's position on the right to life before pro-lifers can be expected to vote for those holding themselves up for elected office.

Be informed. Check AIW and Life of the Party as we get closer to election time.

Washington's Abortion Industry Scores Hat Trick

Not since the passage of Washington's I-120, the most radical abortion law in the United States, if not the world, has the state's abortion industry achieved so much, so quickly, and with so little effort.

In a one week sweep they managed to gain recognition of homosexual "domestic partnerships", mandatory "comprehensive" sex education, and forced participation of pharmacists into the abortion industry.

Adding insult to injury, the state's largest newspaper the Seattle Times depicted the dispute over pharmacists conscience rights as a "political fight disguised as morality" and painted the honest and caring pharmacists who don't want to be part of the state's abortion industry as a "cadre" who were "simply tools in the debate over abortion rights."

Well, right off the bat--most people in Seattle figured out a long time ago that the Seattle Times doesn't know the first think about morality.

Second, the idea that this was a "political fight" is just laughable. The state GOP and Democrat party both supported the governor's heavy-handed demands. Republican attorney general Rob McKenna's representative to the Board of Pharmacy cut off all efforts to help the pharmacists. Luke Esser, the chairman of the state GOP said he supported democrat Gregoire's demands. Calling this sad turn of events a "politcial fight" is a little like calling the rolling of tanks into Hungary in 1956 a border skirmish. The pharmacists were at the mercy of the political powers that be from the very beginning.

Third, in the course of their reporting since the issue erupted in March 2006 the Times did not publish one story to highlight the independent nature of the pharmacists involved. No organized, sustained institutional help ever came to the assistance of the pharmacists. The Washington State Pharmacy Association, the UW School of Pharmacy, the Department of Health, the Board of Pharmacy among others, all supported the abortion industry rather than their professional co-workers.

The Times did nothing to report and inform readers on the financial ties between Planned Parenthood, NARAL, the BOP, the Washington State Pharmacy Association and Barr Laboratories. They did nothing to report on the true nature of Plan B's abortifacient effect or clarify for citizens the Constitution's First Amendment right to conscience. Neither did they bother to expose the lies told by the pushers of Plan B. Now that the state's abortion rate has started to pick-up since the aggressive introduction of Plan B in 1997, the promise by Don Downing of the UW School of Pharmacy that it would reduce the abortion rate seems like a grim joke.

To be sure, the media and the Board of Pharmacy were the real tools in this fight. But the fight ain't over.

Pro-Abortion Senator Patty Murray Named in CWA Lawsuit

CWA Sues FDA Over Unlawful Approval of Morning-After Pill
Coalition of medical professionals and family groups ask court to reverse FDA’s decision

Washington, D.C. — A lawsuit was filed yesterday in Federal Court seeking to overturn the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) unprecedented approval of the morning-after pill, Plan B, as both non-prescription and prescription based on the age of the buyer.

The lawsuit was brought by the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), Concerned Women for America (CWA), Family Research Council (FRC) and Safe Drugs for Women. The suit argues that the FDA committed numerous violations to approve the drug due to extreme political pressure exerted specifically by Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA).

CWA President Wendy Wright said, “The FDA buckled to pressure to do something it has never done before — make a high dose of a drug available without a prescription when a low dose of the same drug requires a prescription. The agency skirted laws and regulations put in place to ensure drugs are safe and effective, relenting under undue pressure from political operatives.”

The lawsuit makes the case that:

• The data submitted by Plan B’s owner did not establish that it is safe or effective. The owner did not test the effects of taking a high dose of hormones during puberty. The FDA did not consider the safety effects on women of all ages, missing medical checkups and counseling that is necessary for the conditions in which Plan B is used. It misleads consumers regarding Plan B’s efficacy, leading to unintended pregnancies.
• The trials to test how well consumers understood the label directions showed that consumers do not understand it well enough to self-medicate with Plan B. Fully one-third of women of all ages did not understand that Plan B cannot be used as a regular form of birth control. The label is misleading and does not provide the legally required disclaimers to delineate what it can and cannot do. This makes Plan B particularly unsafe for young women and girls because they do not understand that Plan B does not replace traditional and more effective birth control, and they may take it too often.
• The FDA lacks authority to approve the same drug for both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription-only distribution.
• The FDA lacks authority to approve distribution based on the buyer’s age.
• The FDA lacks authority to approve “behind-the-counter”—a drug that is neither fully OTC nor prescription only.
• The FDA approved Plan B for non-prescription use without conducting the necessary rulemaking required by the Administrative Procedure Act and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
• The sudden reversal by FDA and Commissioner von Eschenbach had the distinct appearance of resulting from improper political pressure exerted by Senators Clinton and Murray who made clear that they put “holds” on von Eschenbach’s confirmation until he acted on Plan B.
• The FDA’s approval ensures that girls will have unsupervised access to Plan B even though FDA has found that Plan B is unsafe for girls without medical supervision, as denoted by the fact it is prescription-only for those under 18.
• The FDA failed to require Plan B’s owner to comply with the Pediatric Research Equity Act which protects children and adolescents.
  

This lawsuit seeks to reverse the FDA’s decision, placing Plan B back where it belongs: as prescription-only. Barring that, the suit seeks to require a rulemaking procedure to address the legal questions raised.


Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.

Abortion Industry Advocates Dominate Board of Pharmacy

Today the Washington State Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously to deny pharmacists and by proxy other health care workers their right to conscience guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. This rule was pushed by the pro-abortion governor Christine Gregoire, the abortion lobby and the manufacturers of Plan B, Barr Laboratories.

It should be common knowledge by now that the people of Washington have no one to represent them when it comes to their health and safety. Nor do they have anyone protecting their First Amendment rights--especially when the state's abortion industry is involved. Here's just a sampling of the ties between the abortion industry and the Board of Pharmacy.

• Professor Don Downing is nationally known for educating and training pharmacists and other healthcare providers on Plan B. In addition to teaching, he works to promote Plan B, nation-wide and is compensated for his work with Plan B. He is the director of PEAK Solutions, LLC.
• Rod Schafer is CEO of the Washington State Pharmacy Association. The Association provides courses to pharmacists and other healthcare providers on Plan B. The Association charges a fee for the courses. In addition, the CEO has traveled and the Association continues to send staff to promote Plan B.
• New Board of Pharmacy member, Rosemarie Duffy was a member of the Board of Directors for the Planned Parenthood of the Inland Empire from 1998-2000.
• New Board of Pharmacy member, Vandana Slatter is currently a NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Board Member.
• Timothy S. Fuller, consultant to the Washington Board of Pharmacy, also has his own company--Fuller and Associates--to work on issues related to Plan B. He works closely with Don Downing, Rod Schafer and population control organizations to push, Plan B, contraceptives and abortion.

Washington Teen Escapes Unwanted Forced Abortion

This sad story about a young woman in Colville, Washington whose boyfriend tried to force her to abort using an illegal a hit man reminds me of this sad story Planned Parenthood of Western Washington relates about their efforts to legalize hit men.

Relevant facts are as follows:

• Woman is pregnant.
• Man doesn't want the baby.
• Man has emotionally rejected woman.
• Man seeks help in procuring abortion to solve HIS problem.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

True Hell Beats Vanity Hell

This is a story of the abortion establishment at its worst. Of power brought down hard on the body of a woman who, because of illness, ethnicity, and suffocating pressure, could not fight back.

I had never met a woman who had, only a short time before, tried to hang herself.

Which makes me wonder -- to which circle of hell would I consign Big Abortion and Big Pharmacutical?

The Code is Broken

In this post -- Resist, Resist, Resist -- we listed some of the phrases pro-abortion Republicans use to chart what they believe is a middle course on abortion and the right to life. The idea, as explained many times by Michelle at Life of the Party, is to be costmetically pro-life but in reality pro-choice. By speaking in code, the strategy is to convince enough pro-life voters that they are just pro-life enough and "better than the other guy".

One of those code phrases, "I'll appoint strict constructionist judges" we belittled as a pie-in-the-sky shifting of resposibility from the candidate to the Supreme Court. It effectively says, "I can't and won't do anything to combat the culture of death if I'm elected."

Thanks to Rudy Giuliani and an article in this week's Weekly Standard we've now got a better understanding of what that phrase means to him and possibly other cosmetically pro-life candidates. Here it is in nutshell:

...[W]ith Roe--a strict constructionist judge could come to either conclusion about Roe v. Wade. He could come to the conclusion that it was incorrectly decided, overturn it, or he could decide well, it's been precedent for so long now, it would be too disruptive to overturn it, so we leave it alone. I would leave that up to a judge.

So there you have it -- restoring the right to life is just one big crap shoot to Mr. Rudy. In the meantime a President Giuliani is increasing funding for abortion, promoting abortion around the world and basically keeping his head in the sand about what it's doing to our country.

Even more strange is his justification for being a totaly weenie about abortion but acting like a big tough guy when it comes to fighting crime:

I think it's a bad thing in government when we start to play judges of morality...

My concern in government was crime. Morality is a concern of families, of churches and religious leaders. My thing is, you break the law, you go to jail. But morality--I have mine, you have yours. I can talk to you about it, but I'm not going to enforce it. As for abortion, I think it's wrong. However, people ultimately have to make that choice. If a woman chooses that, that's her choice, not mine. That's her morality, not mine.

Huh? How does he think those laws became laws? Somewhere along the line someone made a moral decision about what was right and what was wrong. Aren't law breakers applying Rudy's logic of "I have my morality and you have yours" to their particular situation?

Rudy would be a terrible president if only because of his fuzzy thinking.

Former McGavick Staffer Joins Giuliani Campaign

Elliott Bundy has a record of working for pro-abortion Republicans.

As an aide and spokesman to Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski. He's the one who uttered the famous phrase, "We're happy to receive support from Alaska Right to Life in the manner they've chosen to give it," in regard to Alaska Right To Life's non-endorsement endorsement of Murkowski.

For Mike McGavick's ill fated senatorial campaign here.

Now for Rudy Giuliani as a campaign spokesman, "The ultrasound proposal currently under consideration is a good example of a matter best left to the states to decide," Elliott Bundy said about the pro-abortion mayor's views."

So how many people out there still cling to the idea that McGavick was "moderate" on abortion and would have helped stem the tide of pro-abortion legislation?

Seattle Reacts to Post-Abortion Story

Debbie Schneider's Guest Editorial in Friday's Seattle PI brought 65 comments in the "Sound Off" section.

The pro-abortion side trotted out the shop worn arguments -- It's not a baby. It was her "choice." It's her own fault since she didn't have sex ed or take precautions. Abortion is safer than childbirth. Post-abortive women are mentally ill, etc.

There were however some thoughtful comments from people who were sympathetic to Debbie and seemed to have true compassion. One person asked this question:

In regards to depression, does anyone know of any studies that compare rates of depression after abortion to rates of depression after child birth? Maybe post-abortion depression is simply akin to post partem(sp?) depression some women get after child birth.

The recent New Zealand study is one that may touch on that.

There was also this honest comment:

Speaking as someone who is rabidly pro-choice but just as rabidly anti-abortion in my personal life, I want to say thanks to Ms. Schneider. Hearing the views of someone who has gone through it gives me more pause for thought on the subject. I still come down on the side of pro-choice, but I believe the issues you raised are valid and worth discussion.

One man also identified himself as having 5 aborted children. His defense of abortion seemed based on the fact that he needed those 5 abortions at the time and the "Christian right" would have prevented them from happening.

Several post-abortive women also posted.

Valerie Jacobs of Project Rachel of Western Washington posted this comment in response to "WizardMan":
1) Abstinence is the only form of contraception that is 100% effective, even when used 100% appropriately. I have worked with many women who reported becoming pregnant while using various forms. Contraception is marketed and used as though it is a gaurantee of sexual activity without consequences. Teen women are not stupid or lazy for this. They do not need more sex education; they need different sex education.

2) According to Webster's, the definition of "fetus" is "unborn young." The definition of "embryo" is "an animal in the earliest stages of development in the uterus" [Gr. embryon, embryo, fetus, thing newly born.] To say that an embryo is not a human life is like saying a child is not a human life because it is not an adult. There is indeed a heartbeat at 18-24 days. At 43 days the brain coordinates movement. At 8 weeks all organs are functioning. At 9 weeks the unborn child has indivdual, uniquely identifying fingerprints. This is all well within the first trimester. Before the miracle of life became a political football, medical texts clearly stated that "a new human life begins at conception." Perhaps a few pictures would help WizardMan dispel his ignorance of these scientific facts. If he is not too lazy, I suggest he go to his local library.

3) To equate spontaneous abortion with induced abortion is like equating the devastation of an earthquake with exploding a bomb.

4) Shortly after an abortion women may experience either relief or devastating grief, which can include anger and depression (a form of anger directed inward). Until recently, the vast majority of studies took place less than 12 months post-abortion. This is the time frame we often see "relief" and "emotional numbing." When I reviewed the literature 13 years ago, what I found showed on average that 10% of women were affected in some significant way after abortion. Furthermore, I also found that individual studies showed that anywhere from 1% to 90% of women were affected. Much depended on what what was studied, ie depression, suicidality, etc, and when it was studied (how long after the abortion). Studies done further from the abortion event (3-5 years) yielded more and greater negative effects. This delayed result is exactly what is well known and recogized in the field of post traumatic stress disorder. Recently, an excellent long term study was completed by a researcher in New Zealand who describes himself as "pro-choice." Ground breaking in its scope, this study found a significant link between abortion and mental health and dispels the notion that this is due to prior mental health issues. Whatever "medical text" WizardMan is quoting from may have to be amended. Science will always eventually correct itself if it remains free from political bias.

5) WizardMan's last paragraph is so full of distracting, irrelevant and prejudiced characterizations as to be unworthy of response.

6) One final note. I have personally spoken to and worked with over 1500 post-aborted women (and a few men) to help them pick up the pieces of their lives and heal the scars following this "unchoice." Depression is frequent as is loss of trust in themselves and in relationships. Women's stories are often filled with anger toward men like WizardMan who are calloused toward the life their girlfriends carry and who abandon them emotionally with the politically correct response, "Well, it's your choice." In most cases, these relationships break up and the men involved remain oblivious to the emotional devastation left behind. Women often ask me, "Does he ever think of our child? Did he ever suffer as I have over this choice? It is incredibly healing when some of those women discover that, indeed, he did and does.

This is why we call them Pro-abortion

If I said Olympia, or Salem, was Planned Parenthood occupied territory, would you think I was being overly dramatic?

If I said the "will of the people" was a nice idea but basically didn't exist, would you think I was overstating the situation?

If I said the abortion lobby was submitting legislation would you say I was exaggerating?

Think again.

74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session

Senate Bill 776

Sponsored by Senators DEVLIN, BROWN, Representative ROSENBAUM; Senators AVAKIAN, PROZANSKI, WALKER, Representatives BARKER, BONAMICI, KOTEK, NOLAN, TOMEI

(at the request of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon, NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon)

Looking at the Pharmacist Conscience Clause Issue in Context

Many people have bought into the mistaken idea that the dispute over the proposed pharmacist conscience clause and Plan B is a struggle between religion and women’s health care. In reality, it is something else entirely. All impartial observers of the conscience issue need to be aware of larger context in which it is moving: An overall strategy by the abortion industry to increase the number of health care workers performing abortion either voluntarily or through state or economic coercion.

One of the biggest problems facing the abortion industry right now is the lack of “providers.” Most doctors who spend a good deal of time, money and effort to finish medical school and complete a residency don’t want to be involved in a business that kills children. While the money might be there, the prestige, gratitude, and professionalism isn’t. After 35 years the abortion industry hasn’t been able to shake their “back-alley” image. Furthermore, doctors are burnt-out and many suffer from the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

The response of the abortion industry has been to first search for escape hatches and magic bullets, i.e. chemical abortion pills like RU-486, to help distance the physician from the trauma of abortion. In this scenario, the woman, rather than the physician, is the one usually left to confront the bloody parts of the dismembered fetus. Secondly, they’ve made serious efforts to recruit non-physicians to voluntarily participate in abortion while simultaneously working to pass laws and apply pressure that will compel others to participate.

That Seems a Little Extreme
You don’t have to take my word for it. Visit the web site of groups like The Abortion Access Project and you can see that they are already recruiting midwives, nurse practitioners, and physicians assistants for abortion training. Or as AAP explains on their web site:

New Abortion Provider Training Initiative (NAPTI) seeks to address the shortage of abortion providers and to expand the scope of practice of advanced practice and other primary care clinicians to include medical and surgical abortion.

Hospitals aren’t off the hook either. They are slated for a strategy of intimidation and pressure as the abortion industry attempts to shift abortion services away from the current archipelago of abortion dominated mills toward a “community-based” delivery system. In pharmacies, community or hospital health clinics, and small one- and two-nurse practices in strip-malls, the idea is that abortion could mix in seamlessly with flu shots, mid-wifery, and cold medications.

More Abortions over a Larger Group of Providers
This strategy benefits the industry by increasing access to abortion and diffusing abortion services over a larger number of providers, making it harder for pro-life activists to target any particular provider. It also seeks to address some of the isolation that abortion providers feel within the medical community as well as release the pressure that comes with doing abortions as a primary part of one’s practice. If “everybody’s doing it” there’s support and comfort for those who have a nagging conscience. Of course there will be financial incentives along with the honors and awards that generally fall to those who assist those in power.

But I thought only Doctors were Supposed to do Abortions
Tell it to the governor, or the health department or the sheriff. But don’t expect much of a response. Despite the state law only allowing physicians to perform abortions, Christine Gregoire as attorney general, ruled that Advanced Nurse Practitioners can administer RU-486 chemical abortions without physician supervision,

Attorney General Gregoire, in the 2004 ruling, declared that the “physicians-only” part of Initiative Measure No 120 was obsolete by stating,

[T]he state now recognizes a new category of health care professional with a scope of practice that overlaps in certain ways the “practice of medicine” that was once reserved to licensed physicians.

She also ruled that the “right to abortion” is preeminent and that the state is required by the statute to place the “least restrictions on a woman’s right to have an abortion”. Therefore, “freezing” (her word) the scope of practice of health care professions would make it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion and conflicts with the statute. Washington’s abortion law is obviously continually evolving.

Hey, I didn’t Vote for That
Well, maybe you did and maybe you didn’t. It all depends on who is doing the interpreting.
Here’s the language from Gregoire’s ruling:

We note, first of all, the opening language of RCW 9.02.110 itself that the “state may not deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or to protect her life or health.” The initiative opens with a statement of policy that “[e]very woman has the fundamental right to choose or refuse to have an abortion”. RCW 9.02.100(2). Furthermore, the initiative also contains language requiring that the state impose “the least restrictions on the woman’s right to have an abortion” of the available alternatives. RCW 9.02.140(3). It would be inconsistent with these statements of intent to read RCW 9.02.110 as
“freezing” the scope of practice of health care professionals in such a way as to make it more difficult for a woman to obtain an abortion in those circumstances where she is constitutionally and statutorily entitled to do so.

According to this logic, NOT allowing pharmacists or other health care workers to administer abortifacient drugs or perform abortions in any manner would be contrary to the statute.

Finally, we are told that when new laws conflict with old laws the new law prevails: “If there is an irreconcilable conflict between the new provision and the prior statutes, the new provision will control as it is the later expression of the legislature.”


They Can’t Force Me
Why not? If the “right to abortion” is preeminent and the state is required by the statute to place the “least restrictions on a woman’s right to have an abortion” then what reason could anyone possibly give for resisting participation. Employers who enjoy the revenue certainly won’t stand by such trouble makers. Any fall-back on conscience rights you think you might have is just about to be eviscerated by either the state Board of Pharmacy or legislature – both heavily influenced by the abortion industry.

It Couldn’t Happen Here
Advanced Nurse Practitioners can already administer RU-486 in our state, so it is happening. Here’s how it can continue to happen on a much grander scale.

Are pharmacists, because of Collaborative Practice Agreement legislation currently on the books in Washington and Attorney General Gregoire’s 2004 ruling that a “new category of health care provider with a scope of practice that overlaps in certain ways the ‘practice of medicine’…,” already empowered to administer RU-486? If pharmacists don’t have a right to conscience regarding Plan B how will they have a right to conscience for RU-486 or other abortion drugs?

Will physicians and health care workers be compelled to offer abortion as a matter of course whenever and wherever a woman seeks pregnancy related health care? A friend of mine reported that when she went to Group Health for a pregnancy test not too long ago they did just that. When her pregnancy test came back positive they handed her a list of abortion centers simply because she was pregnant. The medical establishment in the state as long viewed abortion as “health care” so such a move wouldn’t be radical for them in the least.

If hospitals in Washington (including Catholic hospitals) that are already compelled to administer Plan B to “rape” victims, and workers in the health care field do not currently have a right to conscience as has been argued by the state of Washington, then how can they expect an exemption from offering and performing abortions?

Clearly the going forward strategy on the part of the abortion lobby is to find ways within the existing laws (or through new legislation), and with the help of abortion-friendly attorneys general, to allow for all health care workers to practice both chemical and surgical abortion and to force others to do so under fear of losing their employment.

What about the Women?
It’s never been about the women. And it’s never been about health care. All it really takes is the right attorney general, an arrogant and misdirected legislature, and a public uncomfortable with and uninformed about abortion to twist the laws and institutions of Washington to the idea that anything that doesn’t serve the cause of abortion is against the law.

(This is the second in our series on the pharmacist conscience clause leading up to the March 29th Board of Pharmacy meeting.)

PI Editorial Board Insults and Intimidates Women

P.I. Editorial Board Doesn’t Speak for this Woman

After reading your editorial on Wednesday, March 21, Abortion: Insulting Women, as a post abortive woman and local speaker for Silent No More Awareness (SNMA), I was insulted by the P.I, editorial board. I regret my abortion in this state in 1971 when I was an 18 year old university student.

As a matter of fact, most women ask for all relevant information before making any decision, especially health care, with the exception of abortion and contraception. We blindly accept taking pills, patches, emergency contraception and abortion without asking much of anything in the way of current or long term medical affects to us and I have done it for several decades myself. It is insulting to suggest that women don’t need or want accurate medical information.

I wish I had had some of this “insulting unnecessary information” provided by an ultrasound, of my baby’s beating heart at 18 days after conception. Maybe I wouldn’t have believed it was only a blob of cells at 12 weeks after conception. Maybe I would have been told about the risks and side effects of abortion, so when I suffered a miscarriage, anorexia and clinical depression and other problems, I would have recognized them as the after affects of a past abortion and sought help. As for the pricey ultrasounds, there are crisis pregnancy centers that offer them by qualified, trained, and licensed medical personnel.

Of course, I suspect your argument isn’t so much about money, as it is about not wanting a woman to see the truth of a little human being (fetus, Latin for little one) in her womb and facing reality. I am here to tell you from personal painful experience that keeping a secret of shame for a past abortion for decades is much more traumatic than being shown what your child looks like in the womb.

Through speaking with SNMA, I and others tell people what abortion is really like and how we got swept up in the moment and made a quick uninformed decision and how to begin to heal from the experience. As for the lack of necessity for additional regulation, (“It's not like the state doesn't already have laws regulating abortions”), Washington State has no such restrictions because of a 1992 state law, which ensured a woman’s right to abortion, whether Roe v. Wade stands or falls. Washington has constitutional language interpreted by courts as protecting a woman’s right to end her pregnancy, throughout the entire pregnancy up to the moments before birth.

In 1970, four states -- Alaska, Hawaii, New York and Washington -- adopted the most liberal laws in the country, allowing a woman to have an abortion whenever she and her doctor decided it was needed, including mine in 1971 and I never actually talked to a doctor, unless you want to count the abortionist, while performing the procedure, telling me that it was too late to change my mind. Your editorial appeared to me as a veiled attempt at intimidation and deception to suggest to women that somehow what is being considered in other states would have an effect on the women of Washington.

An informed woman is an empowered woman, so women should study up on what our state actually allows. Let’s give women access to necessary medically accurate information, including ultrasounds and what happens during an abortion procedure and the risks involved and then the time to absorb it, so that she truly can make an informed, unrushed decision.

Most young women especially, make an abortion decision out of lack of information, lack of emotional and financial support from the man involved, parental pressure, abortion clinic pressure to get it done as soon as possible or lack of confidence in themselves and their perceived inability to take care of a baby. To limit any information and to keep women vulnerable to intimidation by others, including this editorial board, under the guise of concern for women is well, just insulting.
Deborah Schneider
Shoreline

Cemetary of the Innocents

For Immediate Release, 03/24/07
Contact Joe Fuiten
425-770-5220

CEDAR PARK CHURCH ERECTS "CEMETERY OF THE INNOCENTS"
Asking Community to Protect the Defenseless Unborn and

Stand Against Abortion

Thousands of white crosses were erected Saturday, on the grounds of Cedar Park Church and Cedar Park Christian School in Bothell, in memory of the estimated 3,700 babies that are aborted each day in America. (High resolution photo available upon request to danillet@gmail.com.)

BOTHELL, WA - Thousands of white crosses stretch across fields where just days before youth could be seen playing sports. Christians and pro-life supporters are using the Christian observance of the Annunciation to speak out against the 34-year status quo of legalized abortion that has resulted in the killing of an estimated 3,700 babies every day in America. Saddened by the disposal of precious life and empowered by the belief that humans are created in the image of God, Christians from across the Pacific Northwest are coming together to stand against abortion and promote life.

"Our message to the community is that every life is precious and should be protected," said Dr. Joseph Fuiten, Pastor of Cedar Park Church. "We teach that life begins at conception, not just at birth. We also know that many in our own church and community have had abortions. For those suffering from the effects of abortion, we want to show them that there is forgiveness, hope and healing through Jesus Christ."

In Christianity, "Annunciation" is the celebration of Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary of the conception of Jesus, nine months before Christmas, on March 25. The teaching of Christianity is that Jesus was Jesus from the moment of conception, not just the moment of birth.

Crosses were erected Saturday on the grounds of Cedar Park Church and Cedar Park Christian School in Bothell. Altogether, the display covers about three acres. The crosses will remain up until Monday.

Along with the cross memorial, the church has printed 20,000 copies of "Annunciation: What the natal life of Jesus teaches us about life." A number of churches in the community are distributing the booklets in their services on March 25.
Annunciation Sunday booklets are available for download at www.cedarpark.org/days/annunciation/ or www.positivechristianagenda.org. Supplemental Sunday School lesson plans also available at www.positivechristianagenda.org.