NY abortion vote triggered an idea

On May 4, Tulsa will take a part in a national effort to help men, women and families to preserve the sanctity of life.

“Alive from OK” is a local version of “Alive from New York” – a program from Focus on the Family designed “to celebrate the sanctity of human life; marvel at the wonder of human development in the womb; and encourage advocacy for women facing unplanned pregnancies and the preborn.”

In Tulsa, the local program is sponsored by Community Spirit Magazine and will be from 12:30-4:30 p.m. at Union High School Football Stadium, 6636 S. Mingo Road.

At 12:30 p.m., there will be some local speakers and at 1:30 p.m., they will join the simulcast with Focus on the Family. At 3:30 p.m., there will be some final thoughts from speakers and more music.

The event is free and open to everyone.

The free activities include: bouncy houses; scavenger hunts; obstacle courses; a giant 6-foot soccer ball game; Frisbee contests; a throwing contest; art sections; face painting and more.

Some of the groups represented include pregnancy resource centers, adoption agencies, foster children agencies, medical clinics/services, mobile ultrasounds, churches, community groups, and more.

Volunteers and sponsors are still needed. For information, email [email protected].

According to Focus on the Family, the national event will feature live music and inspirational speeches from special guests, as well as abortion survivors. During the event, a doctor will perform a live 4D ultrasound of a preborn baby. The culminating moment of the event will be a live 4D ultrasound broadcast on massive digital screens in Times Square. The event capacity is 10,000 attendees.

“Legislators in New York and Virginia have voted on some of the most extreme pro-abortion policies in the country, but their blatant disregard for life has galvanized many pro-life activists into action,” according to the Focus on the Family website.

President Donald Trump announced in his State of the Union address that he would ask Congress to vote on a bill that would protect preborn babies who can feel pain (around 20 weeks) from the horrors of abortion.

New Mexico and Vermont are also considering laws that are more permissive about late-term abortions. There is no better time than now to stand for life.

Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, recently interviewed Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, about what’s been happening in the pro-life movement and Senator Sasse’s Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

“I’m one of eight people out of a hundred in the U.S. Senate who’s never been a politician before,” Sasse said. “And it feels like every politician around here finds a way to say, ‘The poorest and the weakest among us,’ about any piece of legislation. We, in this case, are literally talking about the poorest and weakest and the most vulnerable among us – the people who need protection.

“And you’ve got the governor of Virginia having this weird, kind of indifferent, anti-dignity debate: ‘Well, if the baby’s born, you could comfort her for a little bit and you could resuscitate her if the mom wanted to. And then a discussion could ensue between the physicians and the mom about what to do next.’ What he means is: debating whether or not you could have infanticide. Whether or not you could kill this baby after she’s born. It’s really abhorrent. And I guess the – there’s no good news in it. But the thing that we need to look to, to be encouraged and optimistic, is the American people have been repulsed by this.”

Sasse recently tried to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would protect babies born alive in botched abortions, through a unanimous consent procedure in reaction to New York and statements made by the Virginia governor. His measure didn’t pass, but other avenues are being explored.

There is already a law that says that a baby born alive in botched abortion should be considered “a person”— however, this bill doesn’t adequately address the problem of infanticide because there is no punishment for medical professionals if the child doesn’t have proper medical care and dies as a result. To fix this loophole, Sasse introduced S. 311. Under this legislation, medical professionals would be punished by a fine and face a possible prison sentence for neglecting a child born alive after a failed abortion procedure. If an infant is deliberately killed, then a medical professional could face more serious charges of intentionally ending a life, also known as murder.

When it came down to debate on the bill, instead of discussing the merits and potential failings of the bill, abortion supporters portrayed a false image of what the bill was trying to achieve.

“(This bill) would compel physicians to provide unnecessary medical care. It would override physicians’ professional judgment, and it would put physicians in the position of facing criminal penalties if their judgment for what is best for their patients is contrary to what is in this bill…This bill interferes with the doctor patient relationship,” said Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota.

“Regardless of what the intent of the regulation is, the way (the bill) is written, it intimidates doctors with the threat of criminal liability for performing safe and legal abortion. It will have a chilling effect on the ability of women to access the services they need in the United States,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire.

“This legislation we’re debating today is the latest salvo in the far-right assault on women’s constitutionally protected right to an abortion…The Senate is not debating this legislation today because there is an epidemic of infanticide in this country. Instead, we are indulging the majority’s use of a false premise to inflame the public, shame women and intimidate health care providers,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.

“…(They are) pushing this bill to criminalize reproductive care no matter the cost. If it becomes law, this bill would force doctors to preform ineffective and invasive procedures on fetuses born with fatal abnormalities,” said Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois.

None of those statements are true, according to Focus on the Family.

“For example, Dr. Kermit Gosnell, an abortionist who operated in Philadelphia, didn’t need a law to force him to ‘perform ineffective and invasive procedures’ on preborn and born babies. He did it all on his own.

“An incompetent physician more interested in turning a buck than offering anything resembling health care, Gosnell ‘performed’ late-term and sometimes illegal abortions for a steep price. Gosnell was never trained to complete a third-trimester abortion and his skills as a physician in general were subpar at best. As a result, he often had babies who were born alive in his clinic. To ‘finish’ the abortion, Gosnell and his staff members would “snip” a newborn baby’s spinal cord with scissors. It’s unknown how many babies he killed, but it is likely in the thousands. He was eventually found guilty of murdering three of those babies.

“A bill like the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would make it more difficult for doctors like Gosnell to operate. It is a travesty that certain politicians decided to hide behind abortion rights and the relationship between physicians and patients, rather than face the reality that there are a few physicians and medical professionals that are morally and ethically compromised. This bill would protect our most vulnerable, babies and pregnant women who are in difficult situations from people like Gosnell.

“Allowing a baby to die after a botched abortion is infanticide. That members of the Senate would vote against such a commonsense life-saving legislation is unthinkable.”

, “This is a sad moment for our country,” said Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family. “A bill would’ve protected newborns from being murdered failed to pass the Senate today. We must not rest until pre- and newborn babies are guaranteed their God-given right to life!”

In January, pro-life supporters gathered for the 46th annual March for Life. Focus on the Family was able to hear from Representative Jody Hice, R-Georgia. He shared his thoughts on life and conception.

“There is no doubt in my mind that life begins at conception,” Hice said. “We’re living in a time where life is not protected. Life needs to be protected. Life is a gift from God and needs to be protected all the way through…It doesn’t take great theologians to determine when personhood, when life begins.”