Dear Pro-life Friends

St. Paul said it best. “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.” Ephesians 6:12

Even though we “wrestled with the principalities,” Georgia Right to Life (GRTL) has had a banner year. We are one of the most respected pro-life organizations in the nation. This is due to three things: the faithfulness of God, the faithfulness of GRTL staff, and the faithfulness of you, our donors.

We like to think that the best is yet to come as we end this year and head into 2013. We are filled with a profound gladness for blessings already received and with profound rejoicing for blessings that will be coming.

Your gifts determined our projects in 2012 and what you give now will help determine our projects going forward into the New Year.

Here is what you have accomplished in 2012:

• We worked toward the passage of a Personhood-compliant Fetal Pain Law. Georgia had the second highest number of late term abortions in the nation; being a destination state for these abortions. As of January 1^st, 2013 this is FINISHED. There will be babies saved because of this law. Praise God!. UPDATE: The ACLU has file an injunction – the law Is in danger of not going into effect on 1/1/13!

• During the primary election, 66% of the Republicans in the State voted for putting a Personhood Amendment in the Constitution. Yes, it was non-binding; however, we sent a message to our legislators that Georgia is pro-life and they should be, too.

• People have joined the movement because of our web presence. A woman in the Panhandle of Florida drove 7 hours to Orlando to become a part of Personhood there. Why? She saw our Memorial Wall, named her aborted child, and was directed to Orlando from our website.

• The states of Alaska and Iowa want to copy our “program” in its entirety. They want the complete package from our by-laws to our Personhood displays and training to our Life and Liberty Tracker.

• We are still reaching at-risk women with our helpline, our billboards, and our Google keyword searches.

• We use email newsletters, social media, and speakers to reach people everywhere with our principled message of the Sanctity of Life and Personhood.

There is so much more. As we come toward the end of an exhausting but most successful year, there is hardly time to appreciate all that has been accomplished because we have so much more to do in 2013.

The ACLU has filed an injunction against the fetal pain bill to keep it from going into effect on January 1, 2013. We will keep you posted on the status of the bill.

We will pause on January 22^nd of 2013, to mourn the 40^th anniversary of Roe v Wade on the Capitol steps. I don’t know why it has taken 40 years to abolish abortion on demand in this country. I hope that we are seeing the Joshua generation step up to end this wandering in the wilderness by the pro-life movement. We, at GRTL, believe that Personhood is the way out of the wilderness and we will continue to lead in that direction if we have the resources.

Please, I urge you to send your most generous sacrificial year-end gift so we can continue to promote Personhood and defend life at all stages. I can’t ask you for more than you can afford, but please send what you can. We need your help to continue our good work, together.

We thank you for your past generosity and your prayers and we thank you in advance for your gift today.

Together for Life,

Daniel C. Becker, President

The Gipper Got it Right: Pro-Life Ronald Reagan on Abortion

by Chuck Colson | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 5/22/11 2:16 PM

Opinion

A few weeks ago a friend sent me something he thought I would enjoy reading — something that had been published nearly 30 years ago by Ronald Reagan. I found it so moving, I wanted to share it with BreakPoint listeners.

In 1983, then-President Reagan sent an unsolicited manuscript to the editors of Human Life Review, who published it in a small book. It was a heart-felt plea to the American people to recognize the sanctity of life of unborn babies — and to never give up working to protect them in law.

Reagan reminded readers that neither the American people nor our legislators had ever had a chance to decide if they really wanted to legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy: That’s still true today.

Nor is abortion a right guaranteed by the Constitution. Reagan wrote that Roe v. Wade was “not the first time our country has been divided by a Supreme Court decision that denied the value of certain human lives.” The Dred Scott decision affirming slavery has that dubious distinction.

He wrote of the great need to clearly frame and present the issue of abortion — just as abolitionists exposed the terrible truth about slavery.

And what is the real issue? Reagan asked. “The real question today is not when human life begins,” he wrote, “but What is the value of human life? The abortionist who reassembles the [torn-apart] arms and legs of a tiny baby to make sure all its parts have been [removed] from its mother’s body can hardly doubt whether it is a human being.”

And in 1981, Senate hearings on the beginning of human life involved many medical and scientific witnesses who agreed, based on scientific evidence, “that the unborn child is alive, is a distinct individual, [and] is a member of the human species.”

So “the real question,” Reagan wrote, “… is whether that tiny human life has a God-given right to be protected by the law — the same right we have.”

Reagan quoted Lincoln, who wrote that “nothing stamped with the divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on.” He quoted sociologist William Brennan, who warned: “The cultural environment for a human holocaust is present whenever any society can be misled into defining individuals as less than human and therefore devoid of value and respect.” And he quoted Malcolm Muggeridge, who said that “Either life is always and in all circumstance sacred, or intrinsically of no account; it is inconceivable that it should be in some cases the one, and in some [cases] the other.”

How right these men were.

In order to bring back protection for the unborn, which involves fighting the powerful abortion lobby and activist judges, Reagan said, quoting Mother Teresa, we must become “a soul of prayer,” In fact, we must be like William Wilberforce and his friends, who, Reagan recalled, prayed for decades for the end of British slavery. “Let his faith and perseverance be our guide,” Reagan wrote.

The Gipper would be pleased to know that, thanks to the ceaseless efforts of many Christians, more Americans now call themselves prolife than ever before.

Come to our website, BreakPoint.org, and we’ll tell you how to get a copy of this wonderful little book, Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation.

yet another perspective on the 2011 legislative session…

May 13th Radio Commentary
Pro-Life Bills Died This Session
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, May 13, 2011
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. Try as they may, pro-life lobbyists could not get a bill passed this year. You would think it would be a done deal, since the governor is a Republican, the lieutenant governor is a Republican, the Attorney General is a Republican and Republicans have a majority in both House and Senate of the General Assembly. I mention that, because the Republican Party platform is pro-life, in direct contrast to other political party platforms. With Republicans dominating state government, they can pass any bill they choose to pass.

In a non-binding question on the 2010 primary ballot, 75 percent of voters in 46 counties approved a state human life amendment. That means, voters not only want pro-life laws, they want an amendment to the state constitution, too. Since 2001, Georgia Right to Life’s political action committee has endorsed only those candidates with strong pro-life positions. 92 percent of the candidates endorsed by Georgia Right to Life won their elections in 2010, including all nine statewide constitutional officers that were elected in November.

Given those facts, you would have expected Senator Loudermilk’s S.B. 210 to pass, but it was stopped in the House Judiciary Committee. S.B. 210 clarifies the fact that a woman can sue an abortion provider if requirements of the Women’s Right to Know Act are not followed or when other existing abortion laws are violated.

If S.B. 210 had passed, a woman who is a victim of an illegal abortion could go to court and recover damages from the abortionist. That would give pregnant women the same legal rights other victims of medical malpractice already have. But that bill did not pass, despite constant lobbying from pro-life groups and voters throughout the state. So, here’s my question for today: Shouldn’t Republican politicians be held accountable for the pro-life plank in their platform? Should they be allowed to “run to the right;” then govern in the middle? That sounds a whole lot like fence-sitting to me. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.

GA House Leadership Out of Sync with State Prolife Trend

Contact: Daniel Becker, Georgia Right to Life (GRTL), 678-524-9504

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., April 18, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ — Thursday, April 14, marked the end of the annual forty-day legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly. It also marked a new low in the State House’s relationship with Georgia Right to Life and its prolife base. For the second year in a row, there was no prolife legislation enacted. In contrast, the Senate leadership has led by example and passed strong prolife bills each of the last four years.

House Speaker David Ralston, who claims to be prolife, blocked efforts by House members on two meaningful bills, ensuring they were never taken up in committee.  He also ignored two excellent Senate bills which had passed with every Republican senator voting “yes”. In response, the Speaker offered his own “prolife” bills. The Speaker’s bills were deeply flawed and damaging to the state’s ability to protect the preborn. Dan Becker, President of GRTL, explained, “If passed, these fake prolife bills would have nullified twelve years of prolife gains. Both bills were surgically designed to allow for abortions through all nine months. In addition, the Speaker’s bill introduced “rape and incest” exceptions’ in the Georgia code for the first time in twelve years.

Late in the session, Ralston backed what looked like a prolife bill. The Rules Committee even amended the bill with seemingly prolife language. A friendly attorney’s careful research, pointed out that it was a cynical ploy. The measure’s language was excerpted directly from Nancy Pelosi’s federal “Obamacare” bill. It would have had little to no prolife impact. That answered GRTL Legislative Director Mike Griffin’s question: “Why were Planned Parenthood and other groups doing nothing to oppose it?” As Griffin said on the final day, “This bill was a placebo; it was meant to make us feel good–it was a fake.” True prolife members of the House and Senate were frustrated by this year’s inaction. Leaders among them who attempted to work with the Speaker found closed doors and empty promises. “This is not what we expected from the Republican Party,” said Becker, “we are deeply disturbed by this continuing left-of-center shift towards a pro-abortion agenda. Georgians are prolife.”

In contrast, GRTL points to Georgia’s solidly prolife electorate. In a non-binding question on 2010 primary ballots, 75% of voters in 46 counties approved a state human life amendment. “There is no political reason for Georgia Republicans to shy away from strong, meaningful prolife legislation,” said PAC director Melanie Crozier, “Georgia is a prolife state.” “Regrettably, we are left now with only one option,” said Becker. “We must inform constituents that these obstructers have been hostile to prolife legislation, and our PAC must work to elect legislators who will represent the sanctity of life by their actions, not just their words.”

Since 2001, GRTL’s political action committee has only endorsed candidates with prolife positions that preclude abortions for any reason except to save the mother’s life after attempting to save both mother and unborn child. The PAC also requires candidates seeking endorsement to indicate willingness to work for passage of a human life amendment to the Georgia constitution. All nine statewide constitutional officers elected in November hold this position. “It would appear that being prolife is mainstream politics everywhere except the Georgia House,” concludes Becker, “It’s time that changed.”

This Year Like Last Year

We have asked House Rep. Bill Hembree to kill SB 177, the Georgia House’s fake prolife bill.  Please call him at his District Office at 770-942-1656 or his Capitol House office at 404-656-6801 and give him that message politely but firmly.

A little history is in order.  This year, like last year, Speaker Ralston has pulled a last minute move to pass fake prolife legislation in order to say that he has “done something.” Last year, on the final 3 days and ultimately on the last day, the Speaker tried to pass a version of SB 529 that no committee had ever seen.  The Speaker’s version had never been discussed in any kind of hearing. It didn’t matter that the original bill (SB 529) that the Rules Committee saw, had been vetted by a number of different Judiciary committees and approved by 100% of the Senate in a 2-3 hour floor debate. No, Speaker Ralston and his attorney, Bill Reilly came up with their own version of the bill to try and save the day! In the end, GRTL was accused of being unwilling to negotiate and work within the process; however, GRTL had been negotiating with and working with legislative committees and the senate for months in producing a legitimate prolife bill.

Now the Speaker is again crying that we don’t have time to properly vet any other prolife legislation but his. In an interview with the AJC  (http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/legislatures-agenda-packed-in-887707.html) he says that SB 210 has not been vetted properly, therefore, he will not have time to have a hearing for it. He fails to mention the fact that SB 210 IS the Private Right of Action part of SB 529 that was vetted to “death” – all the way to the 40^th day last year!!

So, here we go again, to the last 4 days of the session and we find ourselves with a substituted, fake prolife bill (SB 177) for opting out of Obama Care.  This “opt-out” bill now will be offered to the House and sent to the Senate as the only pro-life legislation this year.

But that’s not all….there is more! Not only is this Obama Care opting-out legislation…it is opting out of abortion funding for all abortions except, life of the mother AND, now . . . rape and incest”! Last year one of the additions to SB 529 by the Speaker was to add “rape and incest” exceptions to the bill.  GRTL hasn’t supported “rape and incest” exceptions in years and never will.

My question is this. If prolife legislation is as important as the Speaker says then why doesn’t his version of the bill (SB 177) need to be vetted by the same committees that are required of GRTL? It seems improper to me to imply that a person can write a bill that doesn’t even have the need of being vetted before it is sent to the floor for debate and a vote. I would dare to say that this gives the impression that he is not interested in having his bill vetted and that this is why he waits until the last minute to bring it forward.

But that’s not all . . . there is more! As you know, Doe v Bolton gave us abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy—for ANY and for ALL reasons. The courts have defined a “life of the mother” exception to mean not just her physical health but also her mental and emotional health. The Speaker’s version of this Obama Care bill leaves the door wide-open for the court defined familial health exception. This means that, if passed AND if the poorly written language can withstand a court challenge, the end result is that NOT ONE child will be spared by this bill. All the mother has to do is claim that her emotional or mental health is impaired and she can get a late term abortion right up until the DAY BEFORE BIRTH! This is an outrage and a mockery of our prolife gains these last twelve years.

So a rabbit is being pulled out of the hat again at the last minute. And what we find is not really a rabbit but a RAT!  Prolife legislation that is really not prolife at all. Why don’t the other legislators see this? Some do, but most don’t! If you keep ignoring error you will eventually not notice it anymore. Some of those who do notice these facts are too afraid to speak up for fear that they will suffer political repercussions within the Republican caucus in general, but more specifically from Speaker Ralston.

The bottom line is that, in these last 2 years, Speaker Ralston, along with other House Leadership, are demonstrating that they are NOT principled prolife politicians, but, at best they are PrINO’s! Prolife In Name Only! And they must be exposed!

I am reminded of what Fredrick Douglas once said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”

Now is the time for all prolife Georgians to get involved and to let the House Leadership know that you are tired of them playing political games with the lives of innocent babies! Their legislation does not pass the authenticity test.  We smell a rat – what about you?

Personhood: A Pragmatic Guide to Prolife Victory in the 21st Century and the Return to First Principles in Politics.

by Daniel C. Becker, President of Georgia Right to Life.

Excerpt from the Preface of the book:

With a heaviness of heart, I answered the next call, “Daniel Becker speaking.”

A calm and measured voice inquired, “You live at 1862 Liberty Grove Rd?”

At last–an emotionally stable and quiet tone of voice bringing with it the hope of a reasoned conversation.

“Yes,” was my muted reply.

He stated his name, going on, “I am a former Navy SEAL.  I have seen a picture of you and your family in the news.  You have three beautiful daughters.  I am coming to rape them and then kill you!. . .@#%$%$. . . because of what you just did to MY family!!”. . .

. . .after an interminable period of horrendous verbal assault, I determined that I could stand to take only one more call.

“Daniel Becker,” I answered, my strained voice no doubt reflecting my horror at the realization of the scope of the consequences I had just unleashed upon my timid wife and five innocent older children.

Without identifying themselves, and with a momentary pause on the other end, a mother’s voice accompanied by her two teenage daughters began singing the first stanza of a familiar childhood hymn:

Standing by a purpose true,
Heeding God’s command,
Honor them, the faithful few!
All hail to Daniel’s band. . .

Through the tears coursing down my cheeks, I thanked this homeschooling family for reminding me I was not alone.  This battle for the “hearts and minds” of Georgia’s citizens was going to be monumental in its intensity–that was to be expected; that Christ Jesus was with me and that ultimately “the battle is the Lord’s”–that was a promise!

What some people are saying about Personhood:

“Dan Becker’s book is a great blend of prudence, pragmatism and principled politics; it is certain to cause us to rethink prolife strategy in the 21st century.”

Dr. Donald Wildmon
Founder and Chairman Emeritus of
American Family Association and American Family Radio

The book can be purchased at Amazon.com here or go to the publisher’s website at www.tkspublications.com

 

Georgia House Leadership Continues to Block Prolife Legislation

Senator Barry Loudermilk and Representative Ed Setzler’s Private Right of Action Bill, SB 210, has been refused a committee hearing in the Georgia House. Atlanta Journal Political writer Jim Galloway has this to say about the bill’s effect,

“Pro-life forces have long suspected that many of the state restrictions imposed on physicians who perform abortions – parental consent for women under 18 among them – are routinely ignored. Enforcement by the state is nearly non-existent, they claim.

SB 210 would allow another avenue for enforcement, through civil suits.”

Georgia House Speaker has said that SB 210 will not have a committee hearing this session. He was quoted in the Atlanta Journal.

““When you’re dealing with things that are so fundamental and so important, it seems to me that’s an issue we ought to be having a serious, thoughtful discussion about,” Ralston said. “I’m not sure that happened over there [in the Senate]. I’m not sure there’s enough time to have the kind of serious discussion that requires over here.”

This seems reasonable until you hear the qualifying facts. The facts are that this bill was part of another bill in 2010 (SB 529) that passed three House Judicial Committees, a Senate Judicial Committee, and the full Senate. It has had plenty of vetting. Truthfully, the 2010 version of the bill was much stronger language than this year’s version. And there IS enough time for it to be heard in the House Judiciary Committee if Speaker David Ralston wanted it heard.

We have worked closely with the leadership of the Senate the last three years and have been overwhelmed by the strong cooperation and support of Lt Governor Casey Cagle, President Pro Tem Tommie Williams and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers. Nearly all of our prolife legislation has passed with mostly unanimous Republican support. We commend the Senate for representing Georgia’s prolife values and working hard to protect the most vulnerable among us.

In contrast, the House’s response the last two years seems to confirm a troubling trend. Meaningful prolife bills lack House Leadership support. This is entirely a House Leadership problem. We have the floor votes to pass any prolife bill in the House . . . if House Leadership would permit the bills to proceed. The Senate has passed four pro-life bills in three years. None of the prolife bills that originated in the Senate have been allowed to come to the floor of the Georgia House for a vote. And now it is happening again.

Please call the Georgia House Leadership and ask them, “Why the House Leadership continues to block meaningful pro-life legislation . . . especially legislation that has been passed in other states and has a proven track record of saving lives?” (You are unlikely to get through to the legislator, leave a message with your name with the secretary.  The calls will only take you 5 or 6 minutes to complete.)

House Leadership:

Speaker of the House               Speaker Ralston                   404-656-5020

Speaker Pro-Tempore             Rep. Jan Jones                     404-656-5072

Majority Leader                         Rep. Larry O’Neal                404-656-5052

Majority Whip                             Rep. Ed Lindsey                   404-656-5024

Majority Caucus Chair             Rep. Donna Sheldon            404-656-5025

Majority Caucus Vice Chair   Rep. Matt Ramsey               404-656-7146

Majority Caucus Secretary     Rep. Allen Peake                  404-656-5025

SB 210 Passes in Senate; Goes to House

Atlanta, GA. –  Georgia Right to Life celebrates the passage of SB 210 Wednesday from the Senate to the House for further consideration.  Entitled The Women’s Private Right of Action Bill, it provides a woman access to financial recovery for illegal abortions and improves compliance with existing abortion laws, among other things.  Authored by Senator Barry Loudermilk, (52), it is considered to be among the first of its kind in the nation.  Georgia Right to Life commends Senator Loudermilk and the Georgia Senate for its continued efforts to further the protection of the citizens of Georgia.

There has been a lot of controversy over the failure of abortion clinics to faithfully carry out existing abortion laws. The Women’s Right to Know Act and The Full Disclosure Ultrasound Act, enacted in 2005 and 2008,  granted women information regarding the abortion procedure and its risks, information regarding the development of the fetus and fetal pain, the probable age of the fetus, and an ultrasound exam among other things.  SB 210 does not restrict or even change existing Georgia laws.  It will, however, give abortion providers extra motivation to uphold the laws that the citizens of Georgia expect them to keep.  Dan Becker, President of Georgia Right to Life, said, “It is encouraging to know that a woman who has been harmed by an abortionist, who has acted in violation of the law, can now recover for the wrongful death of her child.”   The Women’s Private Right of Action Bill passed the Senate 36 – 16 after over 90 minutes of debate.

Georgia Right to Life looks forward to working with the House to help ensure the intent of The Women’s Private Right of Action Bill.

 

Do you want more information?  Email suzanneward@grtl.org

Womb babies feel pain!

February 7, 2011

Dear Pro-life Friends:

Once again let me say what a joy it is to serve a 4^th term as Georgia Right to Life’s Legislative Director and Lobbyist at the Georgia State Capitol. This year, as in previous years, will be a very busy and important session. There will be a number of pro-life bills that we will be working on. I will mention just 2 of them for the sake of time.

Continue reading here. . .