Author Archives: maria

By Katy Schriner, intern

Here’s a scenario that I would like to test out: You are 19 years old, a part-time student and employee living at your parents’ house where you share a room with your sister. Now that you have this in mind, picture this: you are pregnant, which was completely unplanned. With this scenario in mind, you may be thinking of a thousand different things like going through the pregnancy, how to tell your family and friends that you’re pregnant, and ways of figuring out what to do with the baby and what is the best opinion to go with. This is the story of 19-year-old Emily, who had an unplanned pregnancy who took the Abortion Pill and then less than 12 hours after taking it took the Abortion Reversal Pill.

The story about Emily is a beautiful story and a realistic story of someone who thought one way was the best decision but then realized that it wasn’t and she was able to reverse her actions. As I mentioned above, she was only 19 years old when she found out that she was pregnant. At the time she was sharing a room with her sister and was terrified & worried about her future. The next day she went to a Planned Parenthood, where a nurse brought her into a room, had Emily sign waiver papers releasing the responsibilities from Planned Parenthood if anything were to go wrong and then the nurse handed her the 1st pill. At the time, Emily didn’t realize that the pill would cut off the baby’s food supply and cause him to stop growing. But at the time, her fear of being pregnant overcame all the other emotions which caused her to take the pill.

On the ride back home, she cried the whole way, consumed herself with guilt and regret. Once she got home, she told her sister what she did and told her she wanted to reverse the actions that she committed at Planned Parenthood. Emily and her sister started looking online and came across a website discussing a reversal pill. Then Emily had called the number to a hotline nurse, Elizabeth Delgado, who became the life saver in Emily’s life. Elizabeth had directed Emily to go to Patsy and Willie from the San Juan Diego Center and set up her appointment with them the next day. When Emily arrived at the center, Patsy had assured Emily that they were going to save her baby. During the appointment, Emily had learned about the common misconception about babies and the abortion industry: they love to promote that young babies in utero are only cells and aren’t real people (which is COMPLETELY FALSE). After the appointment with Patsy, Emily came home that day and told her parents everything including the reversal process. Her mom was very supportive of Emily all the way and even came to meet Patsy and Willie the next day to thank them!

In July, Emily gave birth to a healthy, beautiful and perfect 9 ½ pound baby named  Ezekiel (which means God strengthens). Without stories like Emily’s, women and the whole world would have no idea about the existence of the abortion reversal pill. Even though Emily was young and scared about the obstacles that she had in her way, she knew through her faith and consciousness that at the end of the day she was making the right decision by becoming a mother and being a role model to those who are or were in her shoes.

By Katy Schriner, intern

Think about this: everyday we put whatever kinds of foods, drinks and prescriptions into our bodies without thinking of the consequences. But when it comes to the abortion pill, do you actually know the real effects? What if I told you that if you took the abortion pill that there was a way that you can reverse it? Well the Abortion Reversal Pill is an effective process that reverses the effects of the Abortion Pill and allows you to continue your pregnancy. Studies show that the Reversal Pill has a 64-68% success rate. In contrast to the Reversal Pill, our bad guy “the Abortion Pill”, also known as Mifepristone, is the pill that can be prescribed by a doctor within the first 7 to 10 weeks of pregnancy that blocks the effects of progesterone–a hormone your body needs to grow a healthy baby. It blocks the essential nutrients which leads to the death of the developing baby.

What a lot of women may not know about taking the pill is the effects and what the pill does to your body and the babies. There are two pills involved in this. For the first pill, a doctor will give a woman considering chemical abortion a physical exam to determine if she is eligible for this type of chemical abortion procedure. If she is eligible, she may be given an oral pill on her first visit. But there are some conditions on how a woman is NOT eligible for this procedure that can include these health problems:

• ectopic pregnancy
• ovarian mass
• Corticosteroid use
• adrenal failure
• anemia
• bleeding disorders or use of blood thinners
• asthma
• Liver or Kidney problems
• Heart disease
• High Blood Pressure

For the second abortion pill, the woman has an option of taking tablets orally or inserted vaginally about 36-72 hours after taking the first pill. The tablets cause contractions and expel the remains of the baby. The process may take from as long as a few hours to a few days. After that, the woman will need to be examined by her doctor two weeks later to ensure the abortion was complete and to check for complications. Five to 10% of the time the woman must have an additional surgical abortion procedure to complete the process.

Along with that, the side effects that come along with the abortion pill can range from small complications to life threatening. There are two types of side effects that come with Mifepristone: Common side effects and Infrequent Side Effects. First let’s check out the common side effects that a woman can get from taking Mifepristone.

Common Side Effects (Severe):

-Uterine Cramps

-Bleeding Not Related to Menstrual Period

-Backache

-Stomach Cramps

-Low Amount of Potassium in the Blood

Common Side Effects (Less Severe):

-High Blood Pressure

-Overgrowth of the Uterine Lining

-Joint Pain

-Dizziness

-Low Energy

-Fluid Retention in the legs, feet, arms or hands

-Loss of Appetite

-Head Pain

-Nausea

-Throwing Up

-Diarrhea

Now that you have an idea of the common side effects of Mifepristone, whether they are severe or not as severe, here are the infrequent side effects of the abortion pill.

Infrequent Side Effects (Severe):

-Infections

-Chills

Infrequent Side Effects (Less Severe):

-Indigestion

-Inflammation or Infection of Vagina

-Chronic Trouble Sleeping

-Fever

Now how can someone commit this kind of act when she has NO IDEA what kind of effects come with taking it? It can even prevent you from having any future kids or even can cause serious injuries or even deaths. What we can do in this movement is to keep telling these kinds of truths EVERYWHERE and hoping one day that we don’t have to live in a world full of cruelty and unkind hearts.

By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

In the refreshing new book Girl, Arise, author Claire Swinarski makes the case for why the pro-life cause is pro-woman. She admits, she’s defied stereotypes as a pro-life feminist.

The critics rant somewhere along these lines: “Pro-life feminists are unicorns–nice to think about but not actually romping through the forest.”

But to the author, the pro-life cause “is where the Church opens wide her arms, steps it up, and shouts, ‘We’re pro-women’ in her loudest voice.'”

Swinarski sums up her viewpoint on abortion this way: “Abortion is wrong–not simply because it ends a life but also because it isn’t good for women.”

Swinarski goes on to write, “…erring on the side of not ending a life seems to be the most rational, moral, loving conclusion, even if you take out of the picture such Bible verses as ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.'”

The pro-life feminist rightly notes that women mostly have abortions because of a lack of choice. A woman chooses abortion because of a lack in her life–whether that be a lack of finances, career, or a loving partner. “This isn’t an empowering decision,” Swinarski writes. “This isn’t ‘my body, my choice’ but rather ‘I feel I have no other choice.'”

It is the pro-life movement that bridges the gap–providing comprehensive counseling, material resources, and hope. It is in that supportive approach that lives are changed and hearts are opened. In the midst of great pain and fear, the beauty of life is recognized and celebrated.

The pro-life movement supplies what is lacking in a woman’s life, allowing her to make the bold, empowering decision to give birth to her baby. It is a movement grounded in an exercise of rights–the right of a baby girl to life, and the right of a woman to give birth.

Now, that’s pro-woman!

By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

In a fascinating passage in the new book Let Me Finish, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie tells the story of how, as a candidate, Donald J. Trump remained pro-life, despite pressure from within his own camp to change his position.

Christie explains that “agenda item number one (was) preparing Donald Trump for Hillary Clinton and their first of three one-on-one debates.” A large team of advisers gathered for the first prep session, including General Mike Flynn.

“Flynn was a train wreck from beginning to end,” Christie writes. “At one point that day, he made a proposal that stunned nearly everyone in the room.”

Flynn went on to say, “I have an idea, and I think it’s really strong. Mr. Trump, what you should do is get on that stage and declare that you’ve changed your mind on abortion, and now you’re firmly for a woman’s right to choose (abortion.).”

The reaction was swift–and unapologetically pro-life.

Campaign adviser Steve Bannon said, “No, no, no. No. He can’t do that.”

“No, sir,” adviser Kellyanne Conway agreed. “That’s not a good thing to do.”

Christie later writes, “What had been clear to me for months–and was becoming clearer by the day–was that Mike Flynn, for all his supposed military and intelligence experience, had no idea what he was talking about when it came to politics. He was a slow-motion car crash.”

The fact is, the pro-life position is the right position–and it’s also a winning position. Candidate Trump drew a clear distinction between himself and former Secretary of State Clinton on the life issue. And he continues to fight the good fight for pro-life in what has been called the most pro-life Administration in U.S. history.

By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

History is being celebrated this year in Pennsylvania, as pro-life activists mark the 30^th anniversary of the passage of the landmark Abortion Control Act.

The result of much research and planning, this trailblazing piece of legislation was tailor-made with the U.S. Supreme Court in mind. Legislators drafted the bill believing that it could be upheld by the High Court—a prediction which largely came to pass.

In the end, in a case known as Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court struck only the spousal notification portion of the law, a provision which had stated that a spouse be notified before an abortion could take place. But the rest of the law stood—and it has stood the test of time.

The life-saving legislation provided for informed consent, meaning a woman had to be told the risks of abortion and apprised of alternatives to abortion before an abortion could take place. It also provided for parental consent, meaning that one parent had to give permission before an abortion occurred. The law also included a 24 hour waiting period for abortions, allowing women time to reflect and to discuss their decision with family and other confidantes before an abortion took place.

In addition, the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act banned sex selection abortions, meaning that a baby girl could not be aborted if the mother wanted a boy (and vice-versa). At a time when sex selection abortions remain an important gender equality issue, the 1989 Abortion Control Act definitely seems ahead of its time.

Legal challenges prevented the Abortion Control Act from taking effect until 1994. But once the law kicked in, abortion totals plummeted by the thousands in Pennsylvania. It is estimated that more than 150,000 lives have been saved in the Keystone State as a result of this ground-breaking law.

In addition, the Abortion Control Act paved the path for other states to pass similar legislation. A flurry of new protections for preborn children and their mothers followed, ushering in a golden era of state legislation on the pro-life front.

Pennsylvanians had hoped that the Abortion Control Act would overturn Roe v. Wade, the tragic U.S. Supreme Court ruling which struck abortion laws in all 50 states. While that dream might have been delayed, the law did help to propel the pro-life movement forward, both legislatively and educationally speaking.

Pennsylvania recently recorded its lowest abortion total ever—a testament to the power of a pro-life law, enacted a generation ago. The Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act was an historic achievement which has made the Keystone State a better place to live.

By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

“As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When we think back on the history of social movements, the clergy have played an important role. We think of the soaring words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who fought courageously for the rights of African-Americans. Dr. King empowered people to take a bold step for justice in the face of tremendous prejudice.

In the 21st century, the civil rights movement of our time is the pro-life movement. It seeks to honor and protect the rights of people–from the dawn to the twilight of life. And while we welcome people of all different faiths, or no faith at all, it is true that clergy can have a powerful impact on the success of our movement.

Here are three simple steps to help engage your pastor for LIFE:

• Invite your pastor to lunch, dinner, or brunch. Share with your pastor your concerns about the protection of innocent human life. In a relaxed atmosphere, you can have a pleasant exchange of ideas for advancing the pro-life cause.
• Recommend resources to your pastor. Your pastor can certainly benefit from reading such online publications as National Right to Life Today. This way, your pastor can be well-informed about emerging threats to innocent life–and peaceful, successful ways to combat them.
• Thank your pastor for pro-life sermons. It is important that we encourage our pastors whenever possible. Let your pastor know you support the clergy member’s life-affirming words.

Finally, remember the inspiring rhetoric of Dr. King during his “I Have a Dream” speech: “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'”