Tag Archives: Abortion

By Bonnie Finnerty, Education Director

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Some songs just resonate with us.  That was the case for teenage me with Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water.  Faithful friendship, self-sacrifice, a reason to hope.  The slow, low start that builds to a bright, buoyant finale, signaling the journey from dark despair to shining dreams in the distance.

                                           When times get rough

                                           And friends just can’t be found

                                           Like a bridge over troubled water

                                           I will lay me down.  

          Throughout high school, I tried to be a bridge for friends in need. But during Thanksgiving break in 1986, everything changed. A college freshman with a positive pregnancy test, I was now drowning in my own troubled waters of fear and uncertainty. Who would be my bridge?  Who would carry me through?

           Raised in a religious home, I had an interior trust that God would always be with me.  But did He not need human hands to accomplish His work?

           I’ve had 34 years to reflect on the bridges that carried me to the other side, to a safe shore, to a place not without pain or sacrifice, yet rich in rewards and goodness.

           My bridges were many: my then-boyfriend/now husband, our parents and families, our friends. None could rescue us from the turbulence we’d face, but all of them in their own way supported our desire to choose life for our child. Their role cannot be overstated.

           But there were others too, many who may not even know how critical they were to our journey to a new life.  

           Like my college roommate, who was a shoulder to cry on, offering wise words and loving support through it all.  She confessed she didn’t know what she’d do in my situation but understood that abortion was not an option for me. My first bridge, she “mothered” me while I was away at school.

           And there was the admissions counselor at my new university, who made my transfer as smooth as possible. I was so grateful that he excused a pregnant me from a gym requirement, and that he also found a way to have a scholarship transferred to my new school. He was a bridge to a fresh start on my educational path.

           Another bridge was the kind couple who provided an apartment over their law office for a very reasonable rent.  Generous and hard-working, they gave us much more than housing, with their own example of marriage, family, and virtue having a great impact on us. They were also a bridge to my husband’s path to law school.

           Many more selfless people carried us through troubled waters, “laying themselves down” in beautiful gestures that mirrored Divine Love itself. For all of these “bridges,” I am thankful every day.

            I pray that I remain open to being a bridge in some way to others in need, especially to women and their pre-born babies.  No woman should ever feel trapped, forced to enter a sea of despair that leads to the death of her own child.

          May we in the pro-life movement and continue to be bridges of love and support that carry women and their children safely to the shores of life, where peace and a hopeful future await.

           These are the bridges with which we will erect a shining and renewed culture of life.

                                Sail on, silver girl

                                Your time has come to shine

                                All your dreams are on their way

By Bonnie Finnerty, Education Director

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Fear is a powerful weapon. And it is being employed full force right now.

Some feminists are forecasting that the appointment of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court will “turn back the clock” on women, erasing any progress made toward equal opportunities in education, the job market, and the public square.

What could possibly lead them to launch such a claim?

Ironically, a brilliant, successful woman. One whom they should be celebrating with abandon, for she represents so much of what the feminist movement has strived to accomplish. 

Although she has had the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association, stellar recommendations from colleagues and former students, an unmatched intellect, and the ability to be both simultaneously assertive and saintly, she has failed to win the approval of hard-core feminists, who fear that she will be the tipping point to the end of Roe vs. Wade. 

It’s really all about abortion.

While Amy Coney Barrett has expressed pro-life views in her personal life, no one knows for sure how she or the rest of the Court would rule as jurists in upcoming cases. She has pledged to interpret the Constitution as written and not legislate from the bench.

But fear is the focal point of those clinging to the distorted notion that women need to end a life in order to succeed. Everyone from Senators to singers are sounding the alarm of panic.

What these faux feminists fail to acknowledge is that their abortion mindset is limiting to women, not empowering. It says that you aren’t “enough” to have a child and pursue your dreams. That the very essence of your femininity is a detriment.  That we must mute our body’s beautiful capability to bring forth new life in order to achieve.

Amy Coney Barrett’s life says otherwise.  The mother of seven children and a former college professor, she is the epitome of empowered.  She is the new face of feminism.

Her life itself is a message to present and future generations of women. True feminism is not an either/or proposition that limits your roles, but an and/both invitation to fulfill your potential.

We as a society owe it to all women to pursue true feminism, not one that pits us against our own children or limits our career choices. But one that honors our natural and unique role as life-bearers alongside anything else we aspire to be. A giant leap forward!

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By Bonnie Finnerty, Education Director

By chance, Joe Biden and I happened to return to Scranton on the same day.

We were both born in the Electric City, into Catholic families who identified with the ideals of the Democratic Party.

Biden lived there for 10 years, while I stayed for 24.

It’s true. You can leave Scranton, but Scranton never leaves you.

Yet our common ground seems to end there. The former Vice-President and I differ on several points, but most importantly on the issue that claims the single greatest loss of life each and every day: abortion.

I went to Scranton to present to high school students. If Biden had attended my morning talk, he would have heard some uncomfortable truths.

Such as every medical school textbook acknowledges that human life begins at the moment of conception. Now there’s some science we should follow.

And that since 1973, much of Biden’s constituency, in fact, 18%, of the US population has been aborted. Almost every fifth voter (and their children and grandchildren) are missing.

Joe could have held the fully-formed 12 week-old and 20 week-old fetal models, representing babies that are legal to abort in Pennsylvania for any reason whatsoever, even though the latest scientific research indicates these pre-born children might be pain-capable.  

He could have learned a lot from the three dozen young people in the room who are grateful to be alive. They are the survivors of the abortion genocide.

But Biden didn’t attend my talk, and I was not invited to his Town Hall campaign event. If I were, I would have asked him a few things.

Such as how he feels about receiving the endorsement of Planned Parenthood when they have been caught illegally selling baby body parts to tissue procurement companies.

And why he chose as a running mate a politician who is so rabidly pro-abortion, she actually targeted pregnancy resource centers in California, requiring them to promote abortion.

I would ask if he thinks it’s a problem that African-American women are five times more likely to abort their children than white women, or if he finds it offensive that 79% of abortion centers are in minority neighborhoods.

Since he frequently invokes his Catholic faith as he campaigns, I would have asked if he is familiar with section 2270 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which says Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception or section 2272 that states Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense.

There’s a lot more I would like to ask this candidate running for the highest office in our country.

Most importantly, I would ask Biden how he expects to make good on his promise to reclaim the “soul of the nation” when he has sold his own to the abortion lobby.

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By Bonnie Finnerty, Education Director

Out of sight is out of mind.

When we can’t see something, or perceive it by some other sense, we can forget that it exists.

That is not the case with Covid-19. Each day we hear about rates of infection and lives lost. Heart-wrenching stories broadcast by news outlets and shared on social media put a human face on the pandemic. Maps and graphs help us visualize trends in data to better inform our decisions.

But there’s another death count not represented at daily press conferences. No news stories detailing the agony that families experience. No charts or graphs or maps. No mitigation efforts ordered by the Governor. The victims remain invisible, out of sight and out of mind, to the general public.

But they do exist. Even if you and I can’t see them.

Yesterday, 12 deaths were attributed to Covid-19.  Eighty-three deaths were due to abortion.

Today, 38 deaths were attributed to Covid-19. Eighty-three deaths were due to abortion.

Tomorrow’s count for Covid-19 deaths is unknown, but we know the approximate number of deaths from either surgical or chemical abortion. Based on 2018 statistics released from the PA Department of Health, over 30,000 abortions occur annually in our state, an average of 83 every single day.

While Pennsylvania has lost 7282 precious lives to Covid-19, in the same time frame we have lost 12,699 precious lives to abortion, as abortion facilities remained open even when other non-essential businesses were closed.

Some lives are ended by a dangerous virus, others by a dangerous mindset that some humans are simply disposable. And should remain unseen and uncounted. As if they never existed.

But we know they do. The science is clear.  Human life begins at the moment of conception. Vulnerable, fragile, dependent, yes. Living, human, unique, and worth protecting, absolutely.

Ironically, in his remarks on April 18, Gov. Wolf reminded us, “There is no higher service than helping each other survive.”

That should include the littlest among us, even if hidden from view.

Let us not forget the victims of the abortion pandemic, during which a total of 1.5 million Pennsylvanians have been denied the most basic of all human rights.

Their lives should count too, after all.

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By Bonnie Finnerty, Education Director

Out of sight is out of mind.

When we can’t see something, or perceive it by some other sense, we can forget that it exists.

That is not the case with Covid-19. Each day we hear about rates of infection and lives lost. Heart-wrenching stories broadcast by news outlets and shared on social media put a human face on the pandemic. Maps and graphs help us visualize trends in data to better inform our decisions.

But there’s another death count not represented at daily press conferences. No news stories detailing the agony that families experience. No charts or graphs or maps. No mitigation efforts ordered by the Governor. The victims remain invisible, out of sight and out of mind, to the general public.

But they do exist. Even if you and I can’t see them.

Yesterday, 12 deaths were attributed to Covid-19.  Eighty-three deaths were due to abortion.

Today, 38 deaths were attributed to Covid-19. Eighty-three deaths were due to abortion.

Tomorrow’s count for Covid-19 deaths is unknown, but we know the approximate number of deaths from either surgical or chemical abortion. Based on 2018 statistics released from the PA Department of Health, over 30,000 abortions occur annually in our state, an average of 83 every single day.

While Pennsylvania has lost 7282 precious lives to Covid-19, in the same time frame we have lost 12,699 precious lives to abortion, as abortion facilities remained open even when other non-essential businesses were closed.

Some lives are ended by a dangerous virus, others by a dangerous mindset that some humans are simply disposable. And should remain unseen and uncounted. As if they never existed.

But we know they do. The science is clear.  Human life begins at the moment of conception. Vulnerable, fragile, dependent, yes. Living, human, unique, and worth protecting, absolutely.

Ironically, in his remarks on April 18, Gov. Wolf reminded us, “There is no higher service than helping each other survive.”

That should include the littlest among us, even if hidden from view.

Let us not forget the victims of the abortion pandemic, during which a total of 1.5 million Pennsylvanians have been denied the most basic of all human rights.

Their lives should count too, after all.

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By Bonnie Finnerty, Education Director

P.O.C. Three little letters.  Do they mean anything to you? 

In the eyes of some, that’s all we really are.

Products of Conception.

Did you know that there is a special room at every abortion center called the POC lab?  It’s where abortion workers literally piece back together an aborted child, reassembling his torso, legs, arms, and head to make sure that the entire baby was suctioned from the mother’s uterus.   If every part of the baby is not accounted for, a remaining piece in the mother may cause infection and potentially death.

Former abortion worker turned pro-life activist Abby Johnson says that workers at her clinic would joke that the room was called the Pieces Of Children lab.

How can anyone joke about reassembling a tiny human like a jigsaw puzzle? Or actually do it?

Can they not see the clearly human features?  Can they not see the life that once was? The life that existed just moments earlier but was violently ended by the flip of a switch?

Not if you’ve been schooled in dehumanization.

That is the lesson that the abortion industry teaches.  They use the pronoun “it” to refer to a baby in the fetal stage of life rather than “he” or “she.”

They minimize pre-born life as “a clump of cells,” even though ALL of us are really just a “clump of cells.”  

They call actual heartbeats “cardiac pulsations.”

It’s a crafted language that transforms a who into a what– and in the process, numbs the conscience to the act of destroying vulnerable life. And to piecing it back together.

In her expose on the abortion industry, The Walls Are Talking, Johnson tells the story of Angie, a woman getting her ninth abortion. Even the jaded staff was dismayed by her carefree attitude and smile.  For whatever reason, after the abortion Angie asked to see “it.”  Breaking with protocol, a worker retrieved the dish from the POC lab and brought it to Angie.

As she peered into the dish, her smile faded. She did not expect to see a little human put back together. Her little human. Her baby. Suddenly, the truth of abortion became crystal clear to her.  The shock sent Angie to her knees and into an inconsolable wail. Abortion workers moved her to another room so she wouldn’t alarm the other women getting abortions.

How many Angies are there, blinded to the humanity of life within, misled by the profit-driven abortion lobby in believing their own child is disposable, and then awakened to the lie? Tragically, too many. 

Let eyes be opened and truth be known.  Let’s work for the day when all women are given life-affirming options, and when all life is safe from harm in the sanctuary of the womb. Let P.O.C. no longer stand for Product of Conception or Pieces of Children, but rather Protection Of Children, born and unborn.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          CONTACT: MARIA V. GALLAGHER, PPLF

June 29, 2020                                    717-541-0034 gallagher@paprolife.org
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HARRISBURG, Pa. – The U.S. Supreme Court, in a narrow 5-4 ruling, has struck down a Louisiana law which required abortionists to have admitting privileges at local hospitals.

            The High Court ruled in June Medical Services L.L.C. v. Russo that the admitting privileges requirement represented an “undue burden” for women seeking abortions. Chief Justice John Roberts concurred with Justices Stephen Breyer, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan in the controversial decision.

            Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the Supreme Court majority decision. 

            “Women in Pennsylvania and this nation deserve the best possible medical care. It is alarming when basic protections are not in place to ensure their safety. That said, every abortion is lethal for a preborn child and potentially harmful for the mother, both physically and emotionally,” said Maria Gallagher, legislative director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, an affiliate of National Right to Life.

            In his dissent, Justice Thomas wrote, “Today a majority of the Court perpetuates its ill-founded abortion jurisprudence by enjoining a perfectly legitimate state law and doing so without jurisdiction.”

            “We look forward to the day when the High Court will reverse Roe v. Wade, the tragic 1973 ruling which has resulted in the deaths of more than 61 million preborn children and left millions of women to grieve babies lost to abortion,” Gallagher added.

******************************************************************************************The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation is a grassroots right-to-life organization with members statewide.  As the state affiliate of National Right to Life, PPLF is committed to promoting the dignity and value of human life from conception to natural death and to restoring legal protection for preborn children.

🔊 Play By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

Safety concerns at Pennsylvania abortion centers are rising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A check of the Department of Health website shows no abortion facility inspection reports have been posted since Coronavirus swept through Pennsylvania.

Indeed, the last report posted is dated February 12th and shows the Philadelphia Women’s Center failing its inspection. At the time, health officials discovered that the troubled abortion center had not obtained parental consent for some chemical abortions for minor girls.

The facility also had no evidence of a patient safety committee nor an infection control committee. The lack of infection control oversight is especially egregious, considering the Coronavirus crisis that subsequently hit the Keystone State.

Pennsylvania’s Governor had the opportunity to stop abortions during the virus outbreak. In fact, one of the Wolf Administration’s orders during the pandemic suspended elective surgeries statewide.

But Governor Tom Wolf, an outspoken backer of Planned Parenthood, refused to enforce the order on abortion facilities, claiming abortion to be an “essential service.” Despite the entreaties of legislators in both the Pennsylvania House and Senate, the Governor never backed off his radical stand.

The apparent lack of oversight of abortion facilities during the pandemic is worrisome. After all, Pennsylvania gained national notoriety after the discovery of the brutal crimes of abortionist Kermit Gosnell. Gosnell is now serving a life sentence in prison after being convicted of the murders of three newborn babies. The West Philadelphia abortionist was also convicted of causing the death of a female immigrant patient, Karnamaya Mongar.

The health and safety of how many women have been comprised at PA abortion centers during the pandemic? We may never know for sure. But what is apparent is that the Wolf Administration is not serious about abortion center regulation–especially in these troubling times.

🔊 Play By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

I recall when I first saw the movie, “Gosnell.” I cried a flood of tears as I saw the bags carrying the remains of babies who had died in abortionist Kermit Gosnell’s West Philadelphia House of Horrors.

When I viewed the movie “Unplanned,” my heart ached for the protagonist, Abby Johnson, when she witnessed a preborn baby dying before her eyes as she watched an ultrasound-guided abortion.

In both cases, the movies seared my conscience, and motivated me to redouble my efforts to stop the tragedy of abortion.

As a result, I am eagerly awaiting “Viable,” the play being streamed at watchsalemmedia.com starting on Mother’s Day. Viable is a story of redemption and forgiveness following one woman’s 30-year-old choice. It is a powerful tale of love and healing–and a marvelous gift to present to the mother in your life.

Please join me in viewing Viable.  Together, we just may be inspired to approach the issue of abortion prevention in a whole new, exciting way.

🔊 Play By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

When I worked for the mainstream media, I noticed a double standard when it came to covering the core life issues.

Planned Parenthood was considered to be the irrefutable expert in all matters related to abortion. Their assertions were seldom questioned; their pronouncements were accepted uncritically.

Pro-life advocates, on the other hand, were viewed with high skepticism. Anything they said was assumed to come from a place of religious faith and, therefore, suspect. Grilling of pro-lifers was encouraged and, in fact, expected–grilling of abortion advocates frowned upon.

Now, as a pro-life advocate, I find I wish there were questions that the news media would pose to spokespeople for the abortion industry and their allies. The answers to these questions would make for more interesting, more informative articles and broadcast news stories.

I wish reporters would ask the simple question: What is abortion? And not be willing to accept a ridiculous answer such as “the right to choose.”

It would also be helpful if reporters would ask Planned Parenthood why their abortion totals keep rising–even as overall abortion numbers are declining nationwide.

I think it would be beneficial if the media asked the abortion industry what specific help it provided to pregnant women who chose to keep their babies. In addition, inquiring minds want to know what abortion facilities are doing to facilitate adoptions.

I wish reporters would ask what abortion businesses are doing to combat domestic violence–since research shows as many as 60 percent of abortions are coerced.

I would like a reporter to ask an abortionist to describe, in detail, the process of abortion and its aftermath–and not accept euphemisms as valid responses.

A free press is a time-honored way to preserve democracy. For far too long, the free press has given a free pass to the abortion industry. Let’s challenge the news media to take on a watchdog mentality when it comes to abortion. After all, lives are at stake.