June 16, 2010

Greetings!

The whirlwind of another state legislative session has come to an end, and we are pleased to report on the great pro-life accomplishments of 2010!  We believe we work on behalf of you and all the pro-life people of Louisiana, so these successes are yours as much as they are ours.

Especially through the combination of the first three successes below, we know that the hard-earned results of this session will help mothers and save lives.  Please check out the successes below and spread the word!

But before I get to that, I have two side notes:

1. I will be on Fox 8 in New Orleans tomorrow morning (Friday) at 7:45 AM discussing the Ultrasound bill with Rep. Juan LaFonta, the only member to vote against the bill.  It should be an exciting conversation!
2. I am heading off to Pittsburgh on Saturday for a national pro-life legislative meeting to investigate new life-saving legislation for Louisiana.  Even though we are less than a week off this session, we are already preparing for 2011!

Without further ado, here are our top ten successes of 2010...

1. Ultrasounds Required Before Abortions: Through the passage of the Ultrasound Before Abortion Act, ultrasounds must now be performed prior to all abortions in Louisiana.  In addition, the abortion facility employee, following a detailed script set forth in the legislation, must offer the woman the opportunity to see the ultrasound image, hear a description of the image, and receive a print-out of the ultrasound image.  Never before in Louisiana has an abortionist had to offer to a woman the chance to see her unborn child.  We hope many woman will choose to see the ultrasound and say yes to life!
   
   We will continue to work with the Department of Health and Hospitals to make sure this law is enforced and abortionists are not cutting corners.
   
   
2. LA Opted-Out of Government Abortions: Through the Abortion Insurance Opt-Out (HB 1247), the government-funded abortions made possible through the President's health care reform bill will not be available in Louisiana.  Without a doubt, this will save the lives that would have been lost had federal abortion subsidies been available here.
   
   
3. More Power to Remove Abortionists from State: HB 1370 not only gave more power to the Department of Health and Hospitals to immediately close abortion facilities that are out of compliance with the law, but enabled DHH to bar any abortionist who has been out of compliance from returning to abortion practice in Louisiana.  We will keep you informed as to any updates on action stemming from HB 1370.
   
   
4. Pro-Life Day Celebrated at Capitol: For one of the first times in state history, Louisiana Pro-Life Day was celebrated on the floor of both the State Senate and House.  Resolutions in both the House and Senate honored all pregnancy centers workers and volunteers for their life-saving efforts.
   
   
5. Choose Life Reception at Governor's Mansion Honors Legislators: Also a first, we held the Choose Life Reception at the Governor's Mansion on Pro-Life Day to honor the many pro-life legislators who fill the halls of our Capitol.  These members confidently protect life even though they face pressure from peers and outside groups.
   
   
6. End-of-Life Issue Safeguarded: For the last two years, a coalition of pro-life groups, led by the LA Catholic Conference of Bishops, has watched and evaluated an end-of-life related piece of legislation known as LaPOST (LA Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment).  Along with these groups, we were opposed to this legislation.  However, through plenty of work, pro-life forces were able to secure changes making the legislation acceptable.
   
   
7. Organ Donation Improved: HB 1123 and SB 453 were successfully amended to restore the two physician safeguard in organ donation.  This assures that the sanctity of life until natural death will be protected while allowing organ donation to take place.  Credit goes to Dr. Jeff White of Shreveport for his insightful analysis.
   
   
8. Choose Life Plate Fix Approved: After a legislative drafting blunder in 2009, we passed legislation to fix one portion of the Choose Life License plate program.  If it had not been fixed, pregnancy centers would not have been able to receive funds from the plate.
   
   
9. No Pro-Abortion Legislation Passed: Not only are we able to pass legislation, but we are able to hold the line against pro-abortion legislation.  No piece of legislation advocating or promoting abortion passed the state legislature in 2010!
   
   
10. Benefit of Ultrasounds Shared Nationwide: While we were hard at work passing the Ultrasound Before Abortion Act, nationally syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker promoted the value of ultrasound legislation through her Washington Post article.  Read the article here.  We hope through this article many other states will further the protection of life through ultrasound legislation.
    

Thanks again for your support and help this session.  Please take a look below at our upcoming events!

For a Pro-Life Louisiana,

Benjamin Clapper
Director
Louisiana Right to Life

P.S. Thank you for spreading the word about the Joshua Leadership Institute (JLI).  We have a great group attending and a fantastic program that will begin on July 11.  We think it will be our best youth event yet!  Registration closes July 4th, so continue to talk it up!

P.P.S. After the conclusion of JLI, we will be hosting Bobby Schinder, the brother of the late Terri Schiavo, in Baton Rouge at 7 PM at the Catholic Life Center on Thursday, July 15th.  His talk entitled "Why Terri's Life Still Matters" is going to be very powerful.  Please spread the word and make plans to attend!  See details online and download the flyer!