RTL Pres. Speaks at ‘Priests for Life’ Case Rally

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National Right to Life Chairman Carol Tobias

National Right to Life Chairman Carol Tobias

“Mr. President, why are you forcing millions of Americans who have a moral, conscientious objection to abortion to use their hard-earned dollars to pay for killing innocent unborn children?”

National Right to Life Committee President Carol Tobias spoke at a rally outside the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., today after oral hearings in the case of Priests for Life v. Sebelius.

The ‘Priests for Life’ case was brought by several Roman Catholic nonprofit groups challenging the Affordable Care Act’s mandate to provide insurance coverage of contraception and abortifacient drugs.

At issue here today,” Mrs. Tobias said, “is whether religious institutions and organizations can be forced to provide health coverage for drugs and procedures in opposition to their religious and moral beliefs. . . The law allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to mandate that most health plans cover any service that the Secretary places on a list of ‘preventive’ services.  There is nothing in the law to prevent the Secretary from placing abortion, assisted suicide, or any other additional services on this list.”

The Obamacare mandate has been challenged in courts around the country by groups such as Priests for Life, The Little Sisters of the Poor, and secular companies like Hobby Lobby, whose owners have strong religious objections to the healthcare mandate.

NYS Senate Health Committee Rejects RHA

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RHA-smallToday — by a 9 to 8 vote — the NYS Senate Health Committee rejected the Reproductive Health Act, a bill to expand abortion in New York. That means this dangerous legislation has been stopped in committee and will not move on to the full Senate for a vote.

We would like to thank Sen. William Larkin, who represents North Rockland, Chairman Kemp Hannon, and the other members of the Health Committee who voted No. And thank you, too, everyone who made a call, sent an email, or helped in the last-minute effort to defeat this bill.

Keep in mind though, that while we have won a battle, the war is still ongoing. The RHA has been killed in committee — but, unfortunately, we haven’t seen the end of the threat.

Abortion supporters have built the same provisions of the RHA  into the abortion plank in the NYS “Women’s Equality Act” (WEA) that we fought so hard to defeat last year.

This year, the  WEA  already  passed  the NYS Assembly in January with assembly persons Jaffe, Zebrowski, and Skoufis voting for it and giving Rockland a complete pro-abortion sweep.

Sometime in the next two months, the WEA will come to the Senate for a vote, and if it passes there (it was defeated by only one vote last year) its deadly abortion provisions will become the law in our state.

So please keep up to date. Let your state senators know you oppose the abortion plank of the WEA — Sen. Larkin in Haverstraw, Stony Point and Pomona (39th District), and Sen. Carlucci for the rest of the county (38th District). Watch this site for more information.

Here’s a more in depth analysis of the RHA vote from the New York Families Foundation.

Forgiveness

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Guest blogger Sean Miller

Guest blogger Sean Miller

“Abortion compounds the grief of many women who now carry with them deep physical and spiritual wounds after succumbing to the pressures of a secular culture which devalues God’s gift of sexuality and the right to life of the unborn.”
— Pope Francis, April 25, at a meeting with African bishops.

The grief and pain of abortion’s aftermath have devastated the lives of many men and women, who feel they have nowhere to turn.

Guest blogger Sean Miller asks us to help them find their way to the forgiveness and healing of God.

Forgiveness

How horrible it must feel to be forgotten!

How many women are hurting from abortion and feel they have nobody to talk to about their hurt? How many men struggle with their lost fatherhood as they try to handle their own hurt alone? And even couples, trying to navigate their way through a sea of stormy emotions, may find themselves feeling isolated.

Does the abortion industry concern itself with them at all? The answer is simply, NO! Once they receive their money and perform the abortion they point to the door.

And what happens when a woman leaves after her abortion is truly heart-breaking to witness. More than once I’ve seen women come out of an abortion facility devastated. Some wail. Others take a few steps, only to collapse in despair on the sidewalk.

What I’ve seen will be forever in my mind, stirring a mixture of emotions. The strongest is sorrow for these women. But there’s also a horrible feeling of helplessness inside — and anger grows. This anger asks, “How can the abortionists and other people responsible for this justify themselves?”  Continue reading →

40 Days for Life — Closing Ceremony

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Eileen Peterson, Msgr. Michael McCabe, pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption in Haverstraw, and Fr. Nicholas Callahan lead the recitation of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary at the 40 Days for Life closing ceremony.

Eileen Peterson, Msgr. Robert McCabe, pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption in Haverstraw, and Fr. Nicholas Callahan lead the recitation of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary at the 40 Days for Life closing ceremony.

The spring 40 Days for Life campaign ended at 3 p.m. on Palm Sunday, April 13, with a prayer service on Perlman Drive in Spring Valley near the Rockland Planned Parenthood office.

For 40 days, those called to stand witness during this 24-hour-a-day campaign have sent a powerful message to the community about the tragic reality of abortion.

And they have sought God’s help for women at risk of having an abortion, innocent children at risk of perishing, men and women who carry the pain of past abortions, workers at Planned Parenthood facilities, and for healing throughout our nation and the world.

And, thanks be to God, as of last week 536 babies (that we know of) had been saved from death, according to reports coming in from 40 Days for Life vigils nationwide.

(If you click on any photo below, a slideshow will appear, and you’ll be able to scroll through the enlarged images one by one.)

The Real War on Women Just Lost a General

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NYSRTLNew York State Right to Life Response to the Resignation of the State Commissioner of Health, Nirav Shah

The NYS Right to Life Committee is relieved that the State Commissioner of Health, Nirav Shah, has stepped down in the face of criticism from pro-life groups and from the Republican candidate for Governor, Rob Astorino that the safety of women has been sacrificed to protect the abortion industry.

According to the records obtained by the Chiaroscuro Foundation by a Freedom of Information request, only 17 of the 225 abortion clinics in New York State were inspected over the last 13 years. And the names of the clinics that have been inspected are not available to the public.

The silence from our Governor and other Democratic leaders has been deafening. With few exceptions, like Sen. Diane Savino and Sen. Rev. Ruben Diaz, there has been no sense of outrage from those who claim to be the great defenders of women.   Continue reading →

40 Days for Life — Week 5

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253 communities across North America and around the world are hosting 40 Days for Life campaigns this spring.

253 communities across North America and around the world are hosting 40 Days for Life campaigns this spring.

The purpose of the 40 Days for Life campaign is to pray to end abortion. But how? Those people you see down by Route 59 — what exactly are they praying for?

Rev. Ben Sheldon, President Emeritus, Presbyterians Pro-Life, reminds us of the words of Thomas Jefferson, inscribed around the inside of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.: “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.”

Intention: We pray for the conversion of abortionists and all abortion advocates.

Prayer:  O God, our heavenly Father, give us courage and wisdom as we seek to eradicate the evil in our society. Help us to realize that your divine Spirit alone can change hearts and minds so that all your human creatures may enjoy the fullness of life you intended for them.

(If you click on any photo below, a slideshow will appear, and you’ll be able to scroll through the enlarged images one by one.)

Can you help carry the message? You never know whose heart you may touch as they drive by. Or whose life you may save, because someone remembers a sign they once saw on the side of the road.

Only one hour this FINAL WEEK to witness in public and pray for an end to abortion.

We are on public property from 9 am until 6 pm on Perlman Drive, in Spring Valley, and from 6 pm until 9 am at the St. Gregory Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel on 21 Cinder Road in Garnerville.

God Bless You! For more information, click here.

Day 1      Week 1       Week 2       Week 3      Week 4

We Are AM, We Stand For Life

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Albertus 3 On Tuesday, April 1, the students and teachers of Albertus Magnus High School in Bardonia held their first Life Chain on school grounds along Route 304. Standing with them were Sr. Nancy Richter, Prolife Club moderator, Joe Troy, principal, and Fr. Frank Samoylo, AM graduate and now pastor of St. Columbanus in Cortlandt Manor.

The Our Lady of Guadalupe Rosarians and others came to show their support. Here is a slideshow.

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