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The Erie Echo
"Voice for Life"
Volume XXIX No. 1  -------- March-April 2001


Inside this issue . . .

Assisted Suicide in Oregon
Cloning
Demonstrations Continue
Election of Officers
Embryonic Stem Cells
Equal Time
February a long, disgraceful month for "abortion providers"
Former abortion providers find peace, solace in therapy
Gannon Professor Speaks at PFL Meeting
High School Oratory Contest
January Activities Report
Levatino Video
Literature Distribution Project
McCain-Feingold
Mother's Day Carnation Project
NRLC Convention
Legislation
Parkinson's Research
Perils of Warm and Fuzzy
Pro-Aborts to March on Washington
Sidewalk Counseling Video
Special Pro-Life Demonstration
Wagner Award goes to John Kreger
Brigham, What's the latest?
Quotes


Mother's Day Carnation Project
Thanks to the loyal support of many area churches and the pro-life community in general, People for Life's annual Mother's Day Carnation Project has become an important source of funds for advancing the pro-life cause in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Giving flowers is a wonderful way to honor mom on her special day - to say, "Thanks mom, for all you do, but thanks especially just for being you!" The Carnation Project honors all mothers. Included in a special way are those mothers who, although facing the challenge of untimely pregnancy, refuse to surrender the lives of their unborn children to the "quick and easy" solution of abortion.

If your church is not currently involved with the Carnation Project, we hope you will discuss the possibility with your pastor. Or, if you are the pastor, perhaps you can discuss the matter with your congregation. The carnation project is a fun activity, one which requires a minimal amount of effort. The church youth group is a good place to look for extra help.

Churches are welcome to conduct the project in whatever way works best for them. Some churches simply make the carnations available for a donation of $1.00 each or $5.00 for each half dozen. Additional donations towards PFL's pro-life educational work is always greatly appreciated, of course. Other churches like to take orders ahead of time. Still others buy an exact number of flowers for distribution to all the mothers. No matter which approach is taken, People for Life volunteers are always pleased to ensure that everything goes smoothly - no fuss, no stress!

And speaking of volunteers, the project has become a sizeable effort over the years, requiring a small army of helpers. If you would like to lend a hand, please get in touch with our Carnation Project coordinators at your earliest convenience. Please contact People for Life at 814-459-1333.

Help is needed for cleaning and labeling buckets, making corsages, preparing orders, making deliveries, disposing of packing materials, and so on. The busiest time extends from the Thursday before Mother's Day right through the following Tuesday. Some work, such as bucket cleaning, takes place several weeks in advance of Mother's Day.

The Mother's Day Carnation Project is a nice way to support the pro-life cause. Each year, we try to do a little bit more on behalf of the mothers and their babies, but it would not be possible without the generous support of people like you.
 

Demonstrations Continue
Editorial by Tim Broderick, PFL president

We invite you to join us for the ongoing public demonstrations at 1611 Peach St. There is a demonstration every Saturday at 1:30 and at least one more during the week. Over 145 demonstrations have taken place since October 1999. Well over 500 area residents have participated.

These demonstrations represent only one part of a very multifaceted program of pro-life volunteer activities conducted by People for Life. We continue to need your help and your financial assistance with all of our pro-life endeavors. However, in view of what is in store for Erie if an abortion facility opens here, I think we must continue to put some special emphasis on the demonstrations. Neither we nor our community wanted this problem. But it is here, and we cannot ignore it.

The demonstrations have one very simple theme. Nearly everyone, regardless of his or her station in life, personal background, politics, or religious persuasion, can understand our main message and take it to heart: "An abortion facility is a place where real, living human babies are deliberately destroyed."

People need to be reminded of that.

Most people instinctively understand that abortion is an evil thing. Unfortunately, most of us at times-like the good German people of the 1930's-get so wrapped up in our personal affairs, careers, plans for the future, and so forth, that we sometimes fail to realize the full magnitude of what is happening right in our own back yard.

Well, an abortion facility is happening in our back yard, and we think this qualifies as an emergency.

How much are public demonstrations going to help? We still do not know. You cannot say for sure. For one thing, it could depend on our numbers-on how many people decide to participate.

What we can say for sure is that simply being angry, outraged, sickened or disgusted is not going to help at all. We can safely assume that the abortionists and their patrons are not the least bit impressed by our personal emotions and private opinions.

I am convinced, however, that if a community clearly demonstrates strong pro-life values and priorities-by sustained personal sacrifices in opposition, even symbolic opposition, to the violence and singular injustice of abortion-it can have an impact. Erie and northwestern Pennsylvania are being tested. Our final grade is going to depend in part on our patience and perseverance. How long will it be before we start rationalizing excuses for complacency, before we decide "it's none of our business" after all?

Strong, honest pro-life convictions are hard to disguise and hard to contain! If those convictions are not in some way being manifested in the real world, it is likely that they do not even exist. Those who would kill babies in Erie probably realize this. These people probably know, and we might as well admit, that what is currently being displayed (demonstrated!), in terms of practical, persistent community opposition, is about what can be expected over the long haul if they begin marketing abortions here in Erie.

How would Erie react, I sometimes wonder, if plans were being drawn up for the slaughter of post-natal infants under, perhaps, a legalized "parents' choice" infanticide program imposed by another rogue U.S. Supreme Court? What practical, cause-and-effect kind of actions would the people of Erie initiate or sustain in that case?

I think that anyone who drives by the Professional Building between 1:30 and 2:30 on Saturday afternoon, will have a good idea about the amount of public outcry that would be generated by "post-natal abortion." I say this because most of us will readily admit-we have already been saying it for many years-that killing a baby before she is born and killing a baby after she is born are equally heinous acts. We like to point out that the baby's "place of residence" is irrelevant.

No, our reaction to legal infanticide in Erie would probably not be very different than our reaction to legal abortion.

If you would like the latest schedule of demonstrations, just call 814-459-1333 or e-mail pfl@peopleforlife.org. Thank you!


 

For the Record

"I DIDN'T SAY THAT." -- VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY when asked on NBC's Meet the Press if the Bush administration would avoid trying to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Willing to sacrifice
". . . when people get caught up with that which is right, and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory." - Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Memphis 1968)

Dehumanized
"If you dehumanize others, you dehumanize yourself. If you stop your ears to the silent pleading of a little life, then you become insensitive to the prompting of your own heart and mind." - DR. PHILIP NEY, Canadian psychiatrist and founder of the Society of Centurions, which offers therapy to people who have left the abortion industry

Abortion was imposed, not embraced
"If Gloria [Steinem] and her ilk were so cocksure that Americans shared their enthusiasm for abortion, they would demand the repeal of Roe so they could prove it in the polling booth." - ANN COULTER, conservative columnist

'Culture of Death' hangs by one vote
"We must build a will to fight the stacking of the courts with the right wing. I have watched the Senate block every single one of Clinton's judicial appointees. We have to build similar will among the Democrats. And we must make sure the fifth vote against Roe doesn't get on there. Otherwise, girls will die. We'll lose a generation of women." - Eleanor Smeal, president and founder of the Feminist Majority

No Substitute for Just Laws
"Not only is this thing a process of education, but it is also a process of legislation." - REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. on human rights

If only the birds could Vote!
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. - Source unknown, submitted by Carl Sheldon

Sounds serious
"George W. Bush has moved quickly to mount a direct attack on Reproductive Rights, and his Republican cohorts are busily introducing Neanderthal legislation designed to catapult women back to the dark ages." - Edinboro NOW website
 

Embryonic Stem Cells
During the presidential campaign, G.W. Bush stated repeatedly that he opposes government funding of research using stem cells derived from human embryos. However, President Bush has not yet moved to actually prohibit government funding of "embryonic stem cell" research.

The harvesting of embryonic stem cells inevitably results in the destruction of the very young human embryos from which they are obtained. Therefore, embryonic stem cell research is being opposed for many of same reasons that abortion and the use of aborted babies for scientific research are opposed.

Pro-life advocates sometimes describe these early human embryos as "microscopic babies," "the smallest persons," and "tiny boys and girls." Unfortunately, the young embryos that are being killed for their stem cells do not look like babies or tiny boys and girls. Yet each of these embryos is unarguably, a living, growing, human individual with his or her own complete genetic identity and destiny. It is logically impossible to oppose legal abortion on the basis of the intrinsic value of the human being and not at the same time be opposed to the deliberate destruction of even the youngest human embryos.

President Bush's record of personal integrity offers plenty of hope that he will soon act on statements made during his campaign and prohibit the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.

However, there are concerns. As Robin Toner observed recently in the New York Times, Bush finds himself at "the uncomfortable center of an increasingly intense struggle over embryonic stem cell research." Stem cell research is widely thought to be the key to cures for a number of devastating diseases, from Parkinson's to catastrophic spinal chord injury and diabetes. Bush has received a letter in support of embryonic stem cell research signed by 123 leading scientists and patient advocacy groups.

Adding to the anxiety are concerns about Bush's Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson. Although he is opposed to abortion, Thompson is known to be an enthusiastic proponent of biotech research. Even more ominous, Thompson has praised the work of Dr. James A. Thompson, who developed the technique for extracting stem cells from human embryos.

It was initially hoped that Bush would move to end government funding by March 15, the deadline for researchers to apply for funding for the next fiscal year. However, Thompson has directed researchers to apply for funds despite the present uncertainties, and the Bush administration has indicated that a final decision might not come before summer.
Please write to President Bush and Secretary Thompson, and demand an end to government funding of embryonic stem cell research and a total ban on the destruction of human embryos in science experiments.
 
 

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone 202-456-1414
Fax 202-456-2461
E-Mail president@whitehouse.gov
Secretary Tommy Thompson
U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
200 Independence Avenue S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone 202-619-0257
Toll Free: 1-877-696-6775
Email hhsmail@os.dhhs.gov

Assisted Suicide in Oregon
According to a report issued by the state of Oregon during February, 27 people took advantage of the state's physician assisted suicide law to end their lives last year. The true number of assisted suicides in Oregon is unknown, because reporting is not mandatory.

Cloning
The Australian Daily Telegraph on March 12 reported that secret human cloning experiments have been taking place in Australia for two years. In 1999, according to the report, a human being was cloned, implanted in a pig, and allowed to live and develop for 32 days before he or she was aborted. Many ethicists, scientists, and political and religious leaders are opposed to human cloning for numerous reasons, not the least of which is that it treats the human person as a artifact. As this report illustrates, scientists who assume the right to generate new human individuals also reserve the right to kill the individuals they have produced.

Parkinson's Research
The New England Journal of Medicine in early March reported on experiments involving the use of nerve tissues taken from the bodies of six to ten week old aborted babies for treating victims of Parkinson's Disease. While some researchers claim that stem cells retrieved from very early human embryos promise the quickest and easiest cures for certain devastating diseases and catastrophic injuries, other types of cells removed from aborted babies, in this case nerve cells, are also being tried. The NEJM reported that in most cases the injection of the embryonic nerve cells into the brains of Parkinson's victims had very little or no effect. However, in 15 per cent of the cases, the subjects developed uncontrollable writhing and jerking which one researcher called "absolutely devastating." There is presently no way to reverse or even moderate these catastrophic side effects.
 

For the Record
THE PERILS OF WARM AND FUZZY

Being Too Nice
"No matter how difficult it is, good manners should be routine. However, in the effort to be civil in conduct, many who know better actually dilute firmly held views to avoid appearing "judgmental." They curb their tongues not only in form but also in substance. The insistence on civility in the form of our debates has the perverse effect of cannibalizing our principles, the very essence of a civil society." - JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS

Silence of the Lambs
"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God..." - Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Brutes "It is sometimes thought that we must all have some great insight into life and the intellect of the great philosophers. Obviously, it is quite important that we have people of ideas and intellect.... But as much as great works of genius are necessary, they are insufficient. This is particularly so when the responses are not of the intellect. It does no good to argue ideas with those who will respond as brutes. Works of genius have often been smashed and burned, and geniuses have sometimes been treated no better.... For brutes, the most effective tactic is to intimidate an opponent into the silence of self censorship." - JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS

All Talk and No Action
"[One viewpoint holds] that the answer to today's violence in the womb is persuasion and civil discourse leading to the eventual triumph of truth and justice. Is that the best we can do for the next baby being led to slaughter in the neighborhood abortuary? We can opt for ongoing civil discourse, but notice that the abortion industry does not wait to win us over before it starts the suction machines.... The violence against the unborn is perpetrated by people who show up to kill and is unwittingly abetted by good people who do not show up to save-and rationalize why they need not since civil discourse will, like truth, eventually win out." - FR. FRANCIS G. MCCLOSKEY, Hudson, New York

When the Truth Hurts
"By prohibiting disparaging speech directed at a person's 'values,' [the policy at issue] strikes at the heart of moral and political discourse-the lifeblood of constitutional self government (and democratic education) and the core concern of the First Amendment. That speech about 'values' may offend is not cause for its prohibition, but rather the reason for its protection: 'a principal "function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger."' Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, 408-09 (1989) (quoting Terminiello v. Chicago, 337 U.S. 1, 4 (1949)). No court or legislature has ever suggested that unwelcome speech directed at another's 'values' may be prohibited under the rubric of anti-discrimination."  - UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT, No. 99-4081, February 14, 2001

At issue was the policy of a State College, Pennsylvania school district which essentially demanded that students not assert their personal moral convictions and never express negative opinions about the "values" or behavior of other students. Let's not forget that moral and political discourse is the "lifeblood of constitutional self government."
 

Former abortion providers
find peace, solace in therapy

By JULIA DUIN
THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Published February 22, 2001

Entering the abortion business was easy, says Joan Appleton, a former head nurse at the Commonwealth Clinic, a square brick building on busy Broad Street in Falls Church, Va.

But leaving it 12 years ago, she says, was something else.

"If I had known in 1989 what I know today," she says, "I would have gone to the nearest bridge and jumped. The horror of what you've been involved in doesn't come to you right away."

Today Miss Appleton, 53, operates the Centurions, which offers therapy to people who have left the abortion industry. Its international component, the Society of Centurions based in Victoria, British Columbia, is having a conference this week in Copenhagen.

Named after the Roman soldier who presided over Christ's crucifixion, the society was founded 10 years ago by Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Philip Ney when he began assembling what he calls "psychological methods" to help former clinic workers.


"The doctors get out because they can't get rid of the nightmares..."

Dr. Ney remembers, "A male gynecologist said to me, 'If you are concerned about some of these problems, how about helping people like me who used to [perform] abortions and who gave it up but are having a struggle with the transition?'"

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortion providers has dropped since the early 1980s. From a high of 2,908 in 1982, the number dropped 30 percent to 2,042 in 1996, the most recent year for which the institute has statistics.

Miss Appleton says she is increasingly sought after by nurses, receptionists, security officers and doctors who wish to leave the business. Last year, she helped 22 persons, she says, and 60 persons have contacted her over the past five years through her employer, Pro-Life Action Ministries in St. Paul, Minn.

"The doctors get out because they can't get rid of the nightmares," she says. "But you can't find a clergyman who knows what you're going through.

The process is fraught with potential disasters - such as the black eye the pro-life movement suffered last year when one of its star players, former clinic operator Eric Harrah, a born-again Christian, renounced his faith and returned to his former homosexual lifestyle.

Mr. Harrah is a "flamboyant, outspoken individual..."

In November 1997, Mr. Harrah left his State College, Pa., abortion clinic and converted to Christianity with the help of several people from a local Assemblies of God church. He soon appeared on local TV explaining his conversion.

The following summer, he was featured in the National Enquirer as being sought after by investigators working for former independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr, who had heard of Monica Lewinsky's 1996 abortion and Mr. Harrah's reputation as "abortionist to the stars."

Mr. Harrah is a "flamboyant, outspoken individual," says Ron Fitzsimmons of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers.

"A number of people within our movement knew Eric had personal issues he was dealing with," he says. "He was someone you couldn't ignore."

Meanwhile, Mr. Harrah's reputation as a moneymaker for anti-abortion causes skyrocketed.

"Eric moved out of the abortion industry, and the next day he was on the speaking circuit," says Carol Everett, who operated a Dallas abortion clinic before leaving the business in 1983.

"But I never trusted him because he seemed to fabricate his story as he went.


"I encountered many pro-life picketers and sidewalk counselors.... For the most part, I hated them all."

Everybody sees someone who's a new pro-lifer and wants to get that story out as fast as possible. But we need time to change. You just don't turn 180 degrees and step into another culture."

Miss Appleton says it took her seven years to switch "cultures."

"I encountered many pro-life picketers and sidewalk counselors," she says of her five years at the Falls Church clinic. "For the most part, I hated them all."

But one woman, Debra Braun, befriended her. Miss Appleton followed her friend to Minnesota in early 1991 and attended one of Dr. Ney's therapy sessions in 1995. She calls it "hell week."

"We started at 8 in the morning and finished at 10 at night," she says of Dr. Ney's therapy. "I was there with a couple other former abortion providers and together we helped one another give humanity to the unborn babies we helped kill."
"Some make it, some don't," the doctor says. "The ones who don't sort of implode. They may revert to drinking, trying to struggle with their anger and guilt, hiding out in a series of rationalizations.

"They have to deal with all sorts of problems: guilt, shame, anger. They feel they've been badly used by their colleagues, doing the dirty work for other doctors.

"These people also feel they are doing a job for society - that other people are making them do it. They feel used.
"When we attempted to find out what got people into the abortion industry, they said it was the power and the money that attracted them. The power was power over life and death."

Dr. Ney, who is near retirement, has since expanded to a more international sphere.

"I get quite a number of East Bloc ex-abortionists," he says. "As for the Russians, they are gradually finding a voice and protesting what is happening to them, telling the state they cannot be expected to do that." Russian women average 2 and 1/2 to four abortions, according to the World Health Organization.

American women who have left the business say that religious conversions played a prominent part. Dr. Beverly McMillan, an obstetrician in Jackson, Miss., who opened up that state's first abortion clinic in 1975, says reading Norman Vincent Peale's "The Power of Positive Thinking" gave her second thoughts.

"I was depressed to the point of suicide, and I think the abortions had something to do with this," she says. "With the technique I used, we had to reassemble the parts. It just got too real. It wasn't guilt that got me out. It was looking at the bodies and realizing five minutes earlier, this was all together in one beautiful piece."

She left the business in 1978 and has since returned to the Catholic Church, in which she was raised. She also has attended one of Dr. Ney's workshops.

Mrs. Everett, the former Dallas clinic operator, converted to Christianity in July 1983, 10 years after she aborted her third child.

"The last month I was at my clinic, I made $13,000," she says, "and that was considered low. You don't walk out of that and suddenly change."

In fact it took 12 years of near-constant counseling to change. She also named the child she aborted "Heidi." Now living in Austin, she operates the Heidi Group, a group that helps crisis pregnancy centers with strategic planning and fund raising.

Miss Appleton calls the child she aborted "Cecilia" and every day draws a picture "of an unborn child that I helped kill."
She gives it a name and a personality, speaks and prays with it, then "I ask God to receive this child into His kingdom."

Dr. Ney says this is all a part of restoring people's humanity.

"If you dehumanize others, you dehumanize yourself," he says. "If you stop your ears to the silent pleading of a little life, then you become insensitive to the prompting of your own heart and mind."

Copyright (c) 2001 News World Communications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of The Washington Times





February a long, disgraceful month for "abortion providers"
It was an eventful 28 days for "abortion doctors" and their associates.

FLORIDA PHYSICIAN CONVICTED
On February 1, a federal jury convicted Florida abortionist Dr. James Pendergraft and an associate, Michael Spielvogel, of conspiracy, attempted extortion and mail fraud. Spielvogel was also found guilty of lying to the FBI and filing a false statement. Spielvogel falsely accused a Marion County official of threatening to bomb Pendergraft's newly opened abortion facility in Ocala. Pendergraft sued Marion County and the City of Ocala when they refused to allow their off-duty police officers to guard his abortion mill. Then, Pendergraft and Spielvogel threatened to seek $100 million in damages and to "bankrupt" the county if a settlement was not reached. They also offered not to open their Ocala facility in exchange for money. During their trial, the defendants attempted to portray themselves as victims of persecution by abortion opponents. Pendergraft faces 30 years in prison and $750,000 in fines. Spielvogel faces 40 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines. Pendergraft vows to keep his abortion mills running at full capacity, despite his conviction. He operates two mills in Orlando and also kills in Ocala, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.

EMERGENCY SURGERIES
On February 3, a 39 year old woman was hospitalized in Phoenix with complications resulting from an abortion. She required an emergency hysterectomy. The woman had been 18 weeks pregnant.
On February 9, Dr. James Pendergraft was back in the news. A suit was filed by a patient from Pendergraft's Orlando Women's Center alleging that Pendergraft failed to diagnose a pregnancy outside Williamson's uterus, and that he perforated her uterus during the second of two attempted abortions in April 1999. The plaintiff required an emergency hysterectomy.

MURDER
A prominent Oklahoma City "obstetrician, gynecologist and frequent target of protesters opposed to abortions" was arrested on February 14 and charged with the murder of his wife. According to a published report, it was the "bloody crime scene, a rumored affair and apparently inappropriate emotional responses" which led police to arrest the abortionist just hours after his wife was slain in the couple's home. One of his long time patients said of the abortionist, "I'd say there is no way he could have killed anything. He is a very kind man. I wouldn't think he would hurt a fly."

MANSLAUGHTER
On February 20, a jury in Maricopa County, Arizona convicted Dr. John Biskind of manslaughter, and the former administrator of his Phoenix abortion facility, Carol Stuart-Schadoff, of negligent homicide in the death of LouAnne Heron. Heron, a 33 year old mother with two sons, bled to death following the abortion of her 23-26 week old unborn child. An autopsy revealed a two inch long laceration in the woman's uterus which was inflicted during the abortion. There were indications that pre-abortion ultrasound results had been manipulated to hide the fact that the unborn child was probably 26 weeks old and able to survive outside the womb. Although Heron's legs were numb as a result of massive blood loss, Biskind left his abortion facility for the day. And when a frantic employee told Biskind, by cell phone, that the patient was struggling to breath and had no pulse, Biskind opted to keep an appointment with his tailor.

TERRORISTIC THREATS
Another abortionist was in court in Boston on February 20 to answer charges that he told five nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital, "I'm going to execute people. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to execute you, Texas-style." The physician is well-regarded in the pro-abortion rights community, said Melissa Kogut, the executive director for the Massachusetts chapter of the National Abortion Rights Action League. She said that she had met him a few times and that ''he clearly cares about the right to choose.''

ORGANIZED CRIME
Also on February 20, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that "A hidden FBI camera not only caught reputed West Side mob boss Anthony Centracchio handling wads of alleged bribe money. It also captured the 71-year-old man in another compromising position-having sex with an employee at his abortion clinic office, court documents show."

TUBAL PREGNANCY UNNOTICED
On February 22, the Bucks County Courier-Times reported a recently filed lawsuit seeking $50,000 from a physician in Lower Makefield, Pennsylvania for a failed abortion attempt. The woman filing the lawsuit alleges that she suffered pain and bleeding following an abortion on July 11 but that the abortionist failed to order follow-up tests. Finally, on August 22, the woman underwent emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy in one of her fallopian tubes. She spent three days at St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown following the surgery and continues to suffer "deterioration of her well-being and severe psychological trauma," according to the lawsuit.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD LIABLE
On February 24, a woman who remained pregnant following a Planned Parenthood abortion three years ago was awarded $672,610. In the initial abortion, Planned Parenthood ripped two limbs from her unborn child but failed to kill it. The woman was probably pregnant with twins, but only one of the two children was successfully eliminated. The woman returned four months later, still pregnant. "So she was given an apology, a list of providers who would do abortions in the second trimester, and shooed out the door," according to her lawyer. At another abortion mill, she saw an ultrasound of her six month old unborn child, who was missing one arm and one leg. She underwent a "three day abortion procedure" to finish what Planned Parenthood had begun. Since that day, according to her lawyer, she has been haunted by visions of babies being killed, has contemplated suicide, and cries uncontrollably at the sight of young children - particularly twins.
 

January Activities Report
Special thanks to everyone who supported People for Life's January Activities! Your generosity and your faithfulness in the fight for life are truly wonderful. When the Supreme Court issued its Roe v. Wade decision on January 22, 1973, some people thought that the "issue" of abortion was settled once and for all. Soon, abortion would become a normal part of American life. You are living proof that that will never happen! Because of your dedication and resolve, Roe v. Wade is destined for the ash heap of history!

Pro-Life Prayer Breakfast
Attendance at People for Life's annual Pro-Life Prayer Breakfast at the Avalon Hotel exceeded 600 for the fourth year in a row.

Our special guest speakers, Dr. & Mrs. Anthony Levatino, arrived in Erie Friday evening and took a room at the Avalon. They dropped by to say hello to the large group of PFL volunteers who were setting up the tables in the Grand Ballroom and the pro-life displays in the hotel lobby. From that point forward, they were "Tony & Ceil."

Speaking at the breakfast, Saturday morning, they shared the story of how the death of their young daughter in a tragic automobile accident led to Dr. Levatino's change from abortionist to pro-life advocate.

The program also included some kind words of appreciation and encouragement from Sen. Rick Santorum and Rep. Phil English, and some particularly insightful remarks by Bishop Donald Trautman.

Special thanks are due the members of the clergy who assisted this year, Fr. Frederick Bentley of St. James Anglican Catholic Church, Rev. Randy Elliot of the First Baptist Church of North East, Rev. Edward Huntley of the Federated Church, and Bishop Donald Trautman of the Erie Catholic Diocese.

We are also grateful to musician and vocalist Angelo Phillips of Bread of Life Community for a wonderful performance, and to Suzy Soroka and Vicky Snyder for delivering messages from Sen. Santorum and Rep. English, respectively. Thanks, also, to everyone who contributed so generously to the free will offering in support of the educational work of People for Life!

March & Motorcade for Life
The Erie March & Motorcade for Life was scheduled to begin at noon, following the Pro-Life Breakfast. For the second year in a row, however, the march did not actually get underway until about 12:30 PM. In the future, more time will be allowed between the Pro-Life Breakfast and the March & Motorcade so this kind of delay never happens again. If next year's breakfast begins at the usual time of 9:00 AM, the start time for the march will be changed from noon to 12:30 PM.

Once underway, the Erie March & Motorcade went off without a hitch. About 350 people marched from the Avalon south to 18th St., around the pending abortion facility, and then north to Perry Square.

Special thanks to those who helped out as parade marshals, and thanks, as well, to the Erie Police Department for their fine job of controlling traffic, thus ensuring the safety of our marchers!

The March & Motorcade was concluded with a memorial service in Perry Square. Special thanks for assisting with the memorial service go to Rev. John Bowers of Grace Fellowship Church and Deacon Ralph DeCecco of Our Lady of Peace Parish.

The Courtside Restaurant, on North Park Row opposite the Gazebo, kindly prepared and served free coffee to the marchers after the memorial service.

March for Life Bus Trip
A week and a day after the local January Activities, People for Life members and guests were boarding buses bound for Washington, DC and the 28th March for Life. Two TV stations covered their departure late Sunday night, January 21. PFL spokesperson Susan Yurkewicz did a live feed interview for 12News at 11:00 with Lisa Adams. Volunteers provided an impromptu backdrop of black and white "No Abortion Mill in Erie" picket signs while Yurkewicz was on the air.

The scene was impressive - four Coach USA buses glistening in the sharp, cold midnight air as 175 representatives of Erie's pro-life community climbed aboard, including a party of eight from Mercyhurst College.

There was an unusually large number of first-time marchers this year. Everyone was provided with maps and written directions, and many of the "novices" joined together in guided "tour groups."

PFL president Tim Broderick led one such group, consisting of eight people. The first stop was the March for Life headquarters in the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill. Dr. & Mrs. Levatino were spotted in the hotel's gift shop, and the group had an opportunity to say hello and chat with the couple for a few minutes.

The March for Life rally took place at noon as usual, but with the Washington Monument, rather than the White House in the background. Erie and People for Life received special recognition during the rally, when March for Life President Nellie Gray talked about PFL's Joanne Wagner, who died on the way to the March for Life in 1976. Many of Joanne's friends and family participated as a group in this year's bust trip, thanks to special efforts by Kathy and Mark Wagner of Girard.

Attendance, although always hard to measure, seemed to be at an all time high. Some estimates ran as high as 280,000.

Levatino Video
Several people have asked if there is a video of Dr. & Mrs. Levatino's talk from last January's Pro-Life Prayer Breakfast. Unfortunately, no recording of that talk is available, due to an equipment malfunction. However, Mrs. Levatino is sending a recording of a presentation they gave on a different occasion. That video will be available to borrow from People for Life in the near future.
 

Equal Time
THE PRO-ABORTION MEDIA

Neutrality CBS Style
"President George W. Bush has wasted no time coming out against women's reproductive health rights with both fists swinging." - CBS e-mail promoting the "Early Show."

We're not here to pretend we don't totally support legal abortion...
"During the campaign, President Bush barely mentioned the word 'abortion,' but pro-choice advocates fear Thursday's confirmation of John Ashcroft as U.S. Attorney General marked the beginning of this administration's attempt to chip away at a woman's right to choose. Activists also fear that today's young women are not prepared to go to battle to protect their reproductive rights.... First off, we should say we're not here to debate the right and wrong of abortion, just different generations' commitment to reproductive rights." - CBS "Early Show" co-host Jane Clayson setting up a February 2 segment with two pro-abortion guests.

Killing is bad, but not killing is worse
"Bush will now deny federal aid to overseas agencies that provide family planning and abortion counseling to the world's poorest women. I am uncomfortable with abortion, but I am more uncomfortable about the prospect of more women dying from botched abortions, or bringing more children than they can feed into the world." - Carole Simpson, ABC News anchor

THE MORAL AUTHORITIES

Majority Spokeswoman
"Bush's nomination of radical right-wing ideologues is an affront to the majority in this country who favor more progressive policies." - National Organization for Women President Patricia Ireland

Fairness and Justice
"The decision by the [Manchester, NH] zoning board to revoke our building permit was... unfair, unjust and unconstitutional." - Jennifer Frizzell, a public affairs director for Planned Parenthood, America's largest killer of unborn children, commenting one of their many lawsuits

Religious Concept
This introduces a religious concept into the law by saying that life begins at fertilization. - Marjorie Signer, National Organization of Women, Virginia Chapter What about saying that life begins at birth? Wouldn't that be a "religious concept," too?

Ethical Abortion and More
"They provided ethical, conscientious and professional services for women in Leon County, and I'm not talking about just abortion." - Linda Miklowitz, president, Tallahassee chapter of the National Organization of Women on the demise of the local murder factory
 

High School Oratory Contest
Area high school juniors and seniors are encouraged to compete in this year's National Right to Life High School Oratory Contest. The regional competition for northwestern Pennsylvania is coming up on April 28. It will be sponsored by People for Life and held at the PFL Pro-Life Center, 1625 W. 26th St., Erie, PA. High School juniors and seniors from Erie, Crawford, Mercer, and Venango Counties are eligible to compete.

People for Life is offering a $100 prize for the best speech of the regional contest. The regional winner will advance to the state finals in Harrisburg on May 19, 2001. People for Life will also assist with the travel expenses associated with the trip to Harrisburg.

The winner of the state competition will advance to the National Right to Life Oratory Contest in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 30, 2001. Prizes will be awarded for the first through fourth place national winners, $1000 for first, $750 for second, $500 for third, and $250 for fourth place.

Each regional contestant will prepare and present an original 5-7 minute speech on abortion, infanticide, or euthanasia. Three judges will evaluate the speeches and select first, second and third place winners.

A student may register for the contest by sending his or her name, address, and phone number to People for Life as soon as possible. Contestants should register no later than April 25th. A complete list of the official contest rules will be provided to each contestant. The same rules will apply at all levels of competition, regional, state and national. An unofficial transcript of the rules can be found on the Internet at www.peopleforlife.org/rules2001.html. For more information, please phone or e-mail People for Life.

Sidewalk Counseling Video
Those who attended People for Life's sidewalk counseling seminar at the Blasco Memorial Library last May saw a five minute clip from a new video under development by the Pro-Life Action League of Chicago. NO GREATER JOY, the completed sidewalk counseling video, is now available to borrow from the PFL audio-visual library. "I think all the people who really care about life should be open to the possibility that they are being called to do this," says Ann Scheidler as the begins.

Ann and her daughter Ann Louise Scheidler were the instructors at the PFL sidewalk counseling seminar. They also appear in the video.

Sidewalk counseling, as the video explains, is something the average person can get pretty good at. Like raising children or driving a car - or playing softball, for that matter - there are some do's and don'ts, and you improve with practice. But you don't need a special education or a particular kind of personality to be successful. NO GREATER JOY illustrates how kindness and compassion can shine forth and often triumph even in grim situations.

Sidewalk counselors are NOT demonstrators or picketers. It is crucial, to the success of either activity, that sidewalk counseling and sidewalk demonstrating be understood as two distinctly different activities and kept in two separate compartments, so to speak.

Even so, NO GREATER JOY makes a few points which pertain directly to pro-life demonstrations like the ones which are currently taking place in Erie. The video briefly visits the issue of free speech, explaining that citizens have a solid legal right to occupy the public sidewalks for peaceful purposes. There is also some sage advice about the importance of humility as a prerequisite for the strength needed to reach out to others and to cope with unfriendly criticism or rejection.

Gannon Professor Speaks at PFL Meeting
Gannon University's Dr. Joseph Lafaro was our guest speaker at People for Life's regular monthly meeting on February 19, 2001. Approximately 40 people attended.

Dr. Lafaro is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Gannon University. His specialties include medical ethics and human behavior. Dr. Lafaro, for many years, taught a course entitled "Analysis of Abortion," which offered a dynamic overview of the subject and integrated a wide variety of disciplines including biology, medicine, history, sociology, law, philosophy, and theology.

Dr. Lafaro spoke for about 50 minutes, paying particular attention to some of the philosophical considerations related to abortion. He discussed the origin and development of ideas about the "soul" and "ensoulment," and how these ideas have been refined with advances in scientific knowledge about conception and fetal development. He talked about what it means to be a "person," what it means to be "human," and the big difference between the notion of a "potential human being" and the reality of a "human being with vast potential."

At the conclusion of his talk Dr. Lafaro kindly answered questions for another half hour.

When it was time to call it a night, Dr. Lafaro offered to return at a later date for another session, probably in the fall. We're looking forward to it!

Literature Distribution Project
People for Life has acquired a large supply of literature designed to introduce high school and college students to the subject of abortion. We would like to get these tabloid-style pieces handed out to students in the spring, with the help of volunteers working the public approaches to our local public high schools, and perhaps some of the colleges also.
Titled "Life is Full of Surprises," these tabloids are very colorful and much more attractive than similar materials designed for this kind of distribution that we have used in the past. The following articles are included: "Chronology of a New Life," "Baby Parts for Sale," "Common Abortion Methods," "Abortion: It just might kill you," "What About Rape and Incest?" "The Reality of Post Abortion Syndrome," and "Been There, Done That" (personal testimonies). The topic of crisis pregnancy is included, but as you can see, abortion is NOT simplistically treated as though it is an issue which only concerns pregnant women or women of child bearing age. Rather, abortion is presented as a multifaceted subject in which EVERYONE has a stake and about which everyone ought to, at very least, form some opinions and convictions.

If you are interested in helping with this distribution effort, please contact People for Life by calling 814-459-1333.
"Older people" will be needed for the primary distribution effort, but students are also welcome to help. If you are a student, you are welcome to have copies of "Life is Full of Surprises" for on-campus distribution at your high school or college.

Copies are available at the PFL Pro-Life Center. If you would like to have a sample copy, please stop by the Center (1625 West 26th St.), or ask to have one mailed to you.

Election of Officers
The annual election meeting of People for Life, Inc. is scheduled for 7:30 PM, Monday, April 16, 2001 and will be held at the PFL Pro-Life Center, 1625 West 26th St., Erie, PA. All are invited to attend, and anyone whose dues are paid one month in advance of the meeting is qualified to vote. Nominations will be accepted from the floor with the permission of the nominee, who must be a member of People for Life.

Nominees for Offices
First Vice-President Rose Ann Yadeski
Second Vice-President Lee Boyes
Third Vice-President John Hoffman
Treasurer Jean Hammer
Secretary Jennifer Jandt
 

NRLC Convention
The National Right to Life Convention will be held next summer in Pittsburgh, at the he Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh Airport, June 25, 26, and 27, 2002! This year, the convention will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 28, 29, and 30.
Encounters with NOW PFL's Ann Wingerter and Rose Ann Yadeski participated in six debates on abortion with people from the radically pro-abortion National Organization for [some] Women at Millcreek Middle School on January 31 and February 1. Ann's report: "The NOW women were brutal but.... Their statistics were incorrect, their thinking faulty, their tactics blast and run, and they continued to shoot themselves in the foot. The kids were great. They saw right through the false arguments. We won over all but a few."
 

ACTION ALERT
McCain-Feingold
As this issue of the Erie Echo goes to the printer, the U.S. Senate is poised to begin a full two week debate on the McCain-Feingold "campaign reform" bill (S. 27). The deliberations are expected to begin on March 19, and a final vote is expected on or about March 30. In its present form, the McCain-Feingold bill constitutes a grave threat to the free speech rights of all Americans. It is a particularly grave threat to the future success of pro-life legislation and political action. Amendments attached during the course of the Senate debate could make the bill even worse.

National Right to Life is asking everyone to contact their two U.S. Senators by phone, fax, and e-mail with one simple message: "Vote NO on McCain-Feingold, because a vote for the bill is a vote against free speech about politicians."
McCain-Feingold is opposed by a broad coalition of organizations, including U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, Business-Industry Political Action Committee, National Association of Business Political Action Committees, National Right to Work Committee, National Rifle Association, and American Civil Liberties Union.

Among the bill's more objectionable features identified by National Right to Life are:

- provisions to make it illegal for a group to discuss with a legislator his or her "message" (for example, how to best promote a pro-life bill) and then discuss the same subject in communications to the public within his state or district. Such communications would be considered illegal "campaign contributions";

- language to ban many types of groups from sponsoring TV or radio ads for one month before a primary and two months before a general election, if the ads even mention the name of a member of Congress (for example, an ad that says, "Please call Senator Specter and urge him to vote for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act"), and to allow certain other groups to purchase such ads only under an array of restrictions, including requiring public identification of anyone who contributes $1,000 for support of such ads; and

- provisions that in effect require a political group to provide advance notice before urging the public to support or oppose a federal politician, thereby allowing powerful incumbent politicians to take advance measures to block speech they don't like - for example, by pressuring broadcasters not to accept ads.

If we are ever going to restore legal protection to unborn children and successfully combat future threats to innocent human lives, such as legalized infanticide and euthanasia, grass roots Americans must become MORE aware of the issues and MORE involved in the political process. The McCain-Feingold "campaign reform" proposal would take us in the exact opposite direction by making it more difficult or impossible to disseminate information about candidates' views and records on important issues.

For more information about McCain-Feingold and "campaign reform," please contact People for Life or, on the Internet, visit:  https://peopleforlife.org/mccain.html

Contact Sen. Santorum
and Sen. Specter Today
Mailing addresses are included below for future reference, but since time is limited in this case, please phone or fax your senators. Use e-mail only after you phone or fax. Tell them to "Vote NO on McCain-Feingold." Always give your name, address, and telephone number and request a written response.
 
 

Sen. Rick Santorum
www.senate.gov/~santorum/emailrjs.html
120 Russell Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6324 Fax: 202-228-0604

1705 West 12th St.
Erie, PA 16508
814-454-7114 Fax: 814-459-2096

Sen. Arlen Specter
senator_specter@specter.senate.gov
530 Hart Building
Washington, DC 20510-3802
202-224-4254 Fax: 202-224-1229

107 Federal Building
Erie, PA 16501
814-453-3010 Fax: 814-455-9925


 

Shays-Meehan Bill
The House version, Shays-Meehan (H.R. 380), could be even worse than McCain-Feingold if or when it comes to a vote! After contacting the senators, please also share your concerns with your representative.
 

Rep. Phil English
phil.english@mail.house.gov
1410 Longworth Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5406 Fax: 202-225-3103

Modern Tool Square
310 French St., Suite 107
Erie, PA 16507
814-456-2038 Fax: 814-454-0163

OTHER LEGISLATION
Please also contact your federal legislators in support of the following important pieces of pro-life legislation.

Peterson cosponsors
Child Custody Protection Act
Rep. John Peterson (R-PA.), is a cosponsor of the Child Custody Protection Act (H.R. 476). Peterson represents a large section of northern Pennsylvania which includes Warren County and eastern Crawford County. The bill was reintroduced in the House of Representatives on February 6, 2001 by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL.). It would make it a crime for an adult to transport a minor across a state line for an abortion without parental notice or consent if the minor lives in a state, like Pennsylvania, that has parental involvement laws. This House of Representatives has voted in favor of this bill previously, in both the 1998 and 1999 sessions of Congress.

RU-486 Patient Protection Act
Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR.) introduced the RU-486 Patient Health and Safety Protection Act (S. 251) on February 6, 2001. A companion bill (H.R. 482) was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 1 by Rep. David Vitter (R-LA.). This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration to establish restrictions regarding the qualifications of physicians to prescribe the abortion drug commonly known as RU-486.

English and Santorum cosponsor Unborn Victims of Violence Act
Rep. Phil English is a cosponsor of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (HR 503), introduced February 7, 2001 by Rep. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) This bill will amend federal law, including the Uniform Code of Military Justice to protect unborn children from assault and murder, by holding violent aggressors responsible not only for the life of the mother but also for the life of the unborn child.

Sen. Rick Santorum is a cosponsor of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act in the Senate. Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH.) introduced the legislation (S. 480) in the Senate on March 6.

Partial-Birth Abortion Ban
Sen. Santorum has concluded, in light of the recent Stenberg v. Carhart Supreme Court decision, that language used in previous federal legislation to ban partial-birth abortion will not survive judicial review. In Stenberg v. Carhart, the Supreme Court struck down the partial-birth abortion ban enacted in the people of Colorado. Santorum says he "will continue working to craft a meaningful and enforceable ban on partial-birth abortion that will survive a court challenge."

Born Alive Infants Protection Act
Sen. Santorum is also planning to reintroduce the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which he says, like a ban on partial-birth abortion, is needed to "delineate a bright line between abortion and infanticide." The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act will ensure that under federal law EVERY infant who is born alive, regardless of gestational age, will be accorded full rights as a U.S. citizen and as a human being. "I am saddened that our society has become so callous to human life," wrote Santorum in a recent letter to People for Life, "that specifying live infants as 'persons,' as a matter of law, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, may actually be necessary." But it is. During a Senate debate on partial-birth abortion, for instance, pro-abort Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA.) asserted that a baby has rights only "when you bring your baby home from the hospital. During the appeals process for Stenberg v Carhart, appeals court Judge Richard Posner suggested that the location of the child, whether in the uterus or not, makes no difference: As long as the mother has the prerogative of killing the child in at least one location, what difference does it make where the child happens to be located when it is killed? And so, the door separating partial-birth abortion from total-birth abortion has been left ajar. Please support Sen. Santorum as he bolts that door shut before it is too late.

What's the latest on Brigham?
Everyone seems to be asking the same kinds of questions. "What's Brigham been up to lately?" "What's going on with the abortion facility?" Dr. Steven C. Brigham is the out-of-state abortionist who purchased a large amount of office space in downtown Erie, announcing that he planned to open a surgical-chemical abortion facility in early 2000.
The latest news comes from New Jersey, where they still allow Brigham to practice medicine and to carry out abortions. According to published reports, Brigham is suing sidewalk counselors in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, attempting to keep them away from his customers. Brigham is charging that protesters have "harassed, intimidated and interfered with the medical care of his patients." The sidewalk counselors categorically deny each of Brigham's accusations. Brigham is trying to get a court to impose a 5-foot "bubble" zone around the women coming in for abortions and a 36-foot buffer zone on either side of the abortion mill. Only to two people would be allowed to get closer than 36 feet.

Brigham's hearing was postponed after his "star witness" identified a woman she said had previously been yelling at her "18 inches from her face." The accused woman, it turned out, had "never even been to Phillipsburg" in her "entire life."

In State College, Brigham continues to operate his abortion facility at 477 East Beaver Avenue while he appeals his November 3, 2000 court ordered eviction from that location. Brigham's State College landlord has been trying to get rid of Brigham almost since the day he arrived in 1997.

The City of Erie, meanwhile, on February 8, 2001, said it was sending Brigham an "order to comply" letter which would give the abortionist "45 to 60 days to come up with a plan" to correct unapproved modifications that were made to his offices in the Professional Building at 1611 Peach St., Erie.

The property had been inspected two days earlier by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor. However, the Department declined to cite Brigham saying, "It's irrelevant to write orders if there's no one in the suite." Presumably, whatever violations currently exist do not pose an immediate safety risk to the people in the presently occupied sections of the building. However, reports of interviews with the DOL that were published in the Erie Times-News did not elaborate on the matter.

No matter the DOL's reasoning, Brigham remained, at the end of the day, subject to a "stop work" order by the City of Erie and locked out of his offices by the Professional Building Condominium Association for not paying over $40,000 in maintenance fees.

Special Pro-Life Demonstration
There will be a special demonstration - against the opening of a baby killing business in our community and for legal protection for the unborn - on Sunday, April, 22, 2001. The demonstration will take place at 1611 Peach St., as usual, with the usual format. It will be special in that it will take place on a Sunday, to coincide with the pro-abort march that day in Washington, DC, and it will be longer than usual. It will begin at 1:00 PM and continue for at least two hours. If enough people or groups are available to fill one hour segments, the demonstration will be extended as far into the afternoon or evening as possible. For more information, or to volunteer for one or more segments, please call People for Life at 814-459-1333 or e-mail pfl@peopleforlife.org.

Wagner Award goes to John Kreger
PFL member John Kreger was presented with a Joanne & Michael Wagner Award at the annual Pro-Life Prayer Breakfast this past January. The award is given by People for Life to recognize outstanding individuals who exemplify the countless grass roots activists whose talent and dedication are the backbone of the pro-life cause, here in northwestern Pennsylvania and across the United States. The Wagner Award was instituted to honor the memory of Joanne Wagner, a dedicated pro-life advocate from Erie, who died while enroute, with People for Life, to the Washington, DC March for Life in 1976.

John Kreger, a computer programmer at Erie Forge and Steel, has been an active member of People for Life since 1989. John spends long hours every year working on the annual Mother's Day Carnation Project. He frequently lends a hand to prepare the Erie Echo for mailing, and during August and September, John can be found answering questions and offering literature to visitors at People for Life's fair booths. John is especially dedicated to the twice-weekly demonstrations at the site of Erie's pending abortion facility. John takes a special satisfaction from the demonstrations, which he considers to be a particularly vital part of his pro-life service to our community. He also enjoys distributing pro-life literature, such as the NRLC Bush-Gore comparison pieces that kept him busy prior to last year's presidential election. During the hectic weeks leading up to the annual Pro-Life Breakfast, Erie March & Motorcade, and March for Life Bus Trip, all in January, John's computer skills are especially helpful, but he can also be counted on for any kind of help necessary to ensure the success of all three events.

A strong proponent of pro-life political action and the restoration of legal protection for the weak and defenseless, John also volunteers as a voter guide distributor for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation Political Action Committee.

John traces his desire to serve the pro-life cause back his days as a student at Gannon University. He was impressed with the Students for Life group at Gannon, and while he never found the time to get involved, he says he always felt a nagging regret for not doing so. Also while at Gannon, John took a course titled Death and Dying, which further focused John's thoughts on the deep importance of every individual human life. When he graduated from Gannon and finally had some extra time, John though he would "make up" for not joining the Students for Life by volunteering with People for Life.

All of us at People for Life are happy he did! Thanks, John! And congratulations!
 

PRO-ABORTS TO MARCH ON WASHINGTON
It's WAR!
The mainline abortion groups, agitated by the election of G.W. Bush and his respect for human life, have decided to have a "massive" march on Washington this April 22. The march, or "Emergency Action," will be part of their new "Emergency Campaign for Women's Lives." Some of the top guns of the pro-abortion lobby got together to unveil their plans on February 28. Present for the meeting were Patricia Ireland (NOW), Gloria Feldt (Planned Parenthood Federation of America), Eleanor Smeal (Feminist Majority), Alice Germond, (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) Francis Kissling (Catholics for a Free Choice), and Rosemary Dempsey (Center for Reproductive Law and Policy).

The pro-aborts have been reporting a big upsurge in donations and volunteerism (more deathscorts to usher women into abortion facilities, for instance), for which they give a lot of credit to President Bush's election. They might have good reason to expect a big turnout for their April 22 Emergency Action. Even the chapter of NOW that is based locally in Edinboro has "reserved a bus so that area activists can take part."

We have seen this sort of thing before. A similar pro-abortion protest in DC was organized in 1989. One year later, normal Americans gathered in Washington for the 1990 Rally for Life, which was organized by the National Right to Life Committee. People for Life had to scramble to come up with 15 buses, so "area activists could take part."
At least 350,000 people were on hand in 1990. Vice-President Dan Quayle, Dr. Jim Dobson, and Cardinal O'Connor were among the dignitaries who addressed the rally. Unfortunately the national media never reported the size of the crowd with any accuracy, or honesty.

It will be interesting to see the pro-abortion national media in action as they roll out what is likely to be a full blown PR offensive on behalf of the Right to Kill. If the pro-aborts can muster, say, 10,000 people, we will probably never hear the end of it!
 

People for Life, Inc. is an all-volunteer, non-profit, citizen's organization committed to the intrinsic value of human life. People for Life is dedicated to advancing true justice by working for the protection of all innocent human life, whatever the age, race, sex, physical condition, economic status, or place of residence (including the womb). People for Life encourages local involvement through education, political awareness, and the promotion of loving alternatives to the primitive and violent "solutions" of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. Together, we can create a society in which all human lives are held sacred.  The Erie Echo is published bimonthly in Erie by People for Life. Tim Broderick, editor


The official registration statement and financial information of People for Life, Inc. may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free in Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999.
Registration does not imply endorsement.
Due to IRS regulations, donations to People for Life, Inc. are not tax-deductible.


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