By Dave Andrusko “Shifting strategies for state abortion battles in 2014” is the headline on a story in POLITICO written by Natalie Villacorta. I think it would be worth our while to take a few minutes to look at her analysis, given that as we approach the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we’ll …
Continue reading "A first look at 2014 pro-life state legislation"By Dave Andrusko Pro-abortionists habitually fluctuate between Chicken Little—the sky is falling—and crowing about how successful they were in staving off those crazy pro-lifers. The measuring stick is the numbers distributed by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute in its periodic reports, Guttmacher’s interpretation of which tends to fall somewhere between these two camps. Pro-abortion blogger Amanda …
Continue reading "The Hard Work of Grassroots Pro-Lifers Pays Off"By Dave Andrusko A friend passed along a story about abortion and parental notification that appeared in the “Daily Report” that, in many ways, has to be read, re-read, and re-re-read. And once you finish Alyson M. Palmer’s account of how a three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals allowed a pregnant teenager to abort …
Continue reading "Finding a reason—any reason—to waive the requirement that minor girls tell their parents about a decision to abort"By Dave Andrusko Setting up a showdown with the state Senate, the Iowa House has set new limits on the use of state funds to pay for abortion and reprioritized the distribution of state and federal family planning funds. The 58-37 vote Wednesday was an amendments to the health and human services appropriations budget, and …
Continue reading "Iowa House/Senate Battle Over Abortion"By Dave Andrusko As we near the end of the week, I asked Mary Spaulding Balch, JD, director of National Right to Life’s Department of State Legislation, for a quick progress report. Here’s the latest. A bill in Mississippi is now on its way to pro-life Gov. Phil Bryant that requires abortionists associated with an …
Continue reading "An Update on State Legislation"By Dave Andrusko Two bills of direct concern to pro-lifers in Wisconsin will receive a vote in the State Assembly next Tuesday, Wisconsin Right to Life Executive Director Barbara Lyons said on Thursday. March 13 is the last day of this legislative session. The State Senate has already approved both measures. AB 154/SB 92: The …
Continue reading "Two Pro-Life Bills to be Considered by Wisconsin Assembly Next Week"By Dave Andrusko Virtually all the attention over the past week has been lavished on the fight in Virginia over its ultrasound bill. (See “Lessons Learned from the Battle over Virginia’s Ultrasound Law.”) But as Mary Spaulding Balch, JD, director of NRL Department of State Legislation, made clear in an interview this afternoon, the Movement …
Continue reading "NRLC State Affiliates Working Hard to Pass Pro-Life Legislation"By Dave Andrusko Chatting with NRLC Director of State Legislation Mary Spaulding Balch today, she reminded me of the power—and the irresistibility to reporters—of ultrasounds. Pro-lifers in Pennsylvania have just introduced House Bill 1077, the Women’s Right-to Know Act, which empowers women by requiring the abortionist to position the ultrasound screen so that women could …
Continue reading "National Right to Life Affiliates Moving Pro-Life Legislation Ahead in State Legislatures"By Dave Andrusko Over the course of the year NRL News Today will frequently update you on pro-life legislation as it works its way through the state legislatures. We talked today with Mary Spaulding Balch, JD, who directs NRLC’s Department of State Legislation. Her office is on call to NRLC’s 50 state affiliates 24/7, so …
Continue reading "A Conversation with Mary Spaulding Balch, Director of NRLC’s Department of State Legislation"By Dave Andrusko After sloughing through a pile of obstacles, pro-lifers in Pennsylvania have taken an important step forward on two bills. The state House gave final approval yesterday (146-45) to a bill that would move Pennsylvania another step closer to joining the eight other states that have opted out of abortion funding in the …
Continue reading "Pennsylvania Close to Passing Two Pro-Life Bills"By Dave Andrusko The fun part [loosely defined] of reading pro-abortion posts is to contrast their headlines and thesis statement with what the body of the article actually makes clear. For example, “Who’s winning the abortion war?” ran on Salon.com and was answered by its author Irin Carmon, “frustratingly…. no one.” Really? Is she saying …
Continue reading "Who is Winning the Abortion War?"By Ingrid Duran, NRLC Department of State Legislation Assistant For the last 13 years, National Right to Life has been an exhibitor at the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) annual conference. This year it was held in New Orleans, and I was fortunate enough to attend for the very first time. For me the three …
Continue reading "A Case of Mistaken Identity Rectified"