Nebraskans United for Life » Take Action

Congress is taking up the Protect Life Act

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:56:41 +0000

ACTION NEEDED NOW!
Congress is taking up the Protect Life Act

Do you think that your tax dollars should be spent on abortions?
If not, then do not wait another minute!
The federal healthcare law would include taxpayer dollars as resources for abortions!
Call now to let your representative know!

We must flood their offices with calls letting them know that they will be held accountable for the position they take on this. We need to let them know that we will not sit idly by as they continue to dip into our pockets to pay for abortions.

We must fight to get the government out of funding abortion.
Please act today, and urge your like-minded friends to do the same!
Thank you.

Click here for a directory of Representatives. http://www.house.gov/representatives/#state_fl

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 789 here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll789.xml

U.S. House Passes Protect Life Act, 251-172!
WASHINGTON (Updated October 13, 2011,7:30 PM EST) — The U.S. House of Representatives this evening passed the NRLC-backed Protect Life Act (H.R. 358) by a vote of 251-172.

The Protect Life Act would nullify the multiple abortion-expanding provisions of the 2010 federal health care law (“ObamaCare”).

On October 5, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius vehemently defended the 2010 health care law in a speech to a NARAL Pro-Choice America fundraiser, saying ‘we are in a war’ with critics of the law. On October 12, the White House issued a formal veto threat against the Protect Life Act. “President Obama won enactment of ObamaCare in 2010 partly by pretending that the bill did not expand abortion — but now the mask is coming off,” said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson.

In an October 6 letter to U.S. House members, NRLC noted that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, Public Law 111-148, “ObamaCare”) “. . . contained multiple provisions that provide authorizations for subsidies for abortion, both implicit and explicit, and also multiple provisions that opened doors to abortion-expanding administrative actions.” The Protect Life Act would prohibit the use of any PPACA-authorized funds for abortions or to subsidize health plans that cover abortions, except to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest. The Protect Life Act would not restrict the sale or purchase of insurance coverage for abortion with non-federal funds.

During today’s debate, opponents of the bill repeatedly claimed that it would allow hospitals to deny women “emergency” abortions. In reality, the bill does not change the longstanding federal law in question, called EMTALA, which requires that in an “emergency” a hospital must do its best to stabilize both the pregnant mother and her “unborn child” (which is the term used in the statute). The Protect Life Act allows federal funding of an abortion required to save a mother’s life.

The Protect Life Act is sponsored by Congressman Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) and Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-Il.). On today’s vote on passage, the bill was supported by 236 Republicans and 15 Democrats. It was opposed by 170 Democrats and two Republicans.

Petition to Sign for Respect for Rights of Conscience Act

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:53:19 +0000

September 12, 2011

Dear Friends,

As I’ve mentioned in previous updates, the Obama Administration has issued a new policy (as part of the new healthcare act) that forces most private health plans to provide coverage for birth control and sterilizations at no charge (no co-pay, no deductible). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which drafted and is implementing this policy, is accepting public comment until the end of September.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging Catholic individuals, institutions and groups to submit comments urging DHHS to rescind this policy which represents an “unprecedented attack on religious freedom.” They have produced an urgent nationwide bulletin insert that they are asking all parishes to distribute. The bulletin insert (both English and Spanish) and excellent background information is available online at www.usccb.org/conscience.

The USCCB has made it VERY easy to submit online comments with a pre-printed message that allows the sender to add his/her own comments. The link above also provides an opportunity to send a message to our elected officials in Washington urging them to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179/S. 1467) which would allow exemptions (based on moral or religious beliefs) from this coercion . Congressman Jeff Fortenberry introduced H.R. 1179 and Congressmen Lee Terry and Adrian Smith are co-sponsors. Sen. Mike Johanns is a co-sponsor of S. 1467. Sen. Ben Nelson has not yet co-sponsored the bill and should be urged to do so.

Finally, below are some upcoming pro-life events.

UPCOMING PRO LIFE EVENTS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

Sidewalk Counseling Workshop at St. Robert Bellarmine
If you’ve ever wanted to pray outside an abortion clinic but were intimidated or didn’t know where to start, please join Heather Gardner & Elizabeth McClung, counselors from the Austin Coalition for Life (who helped Abby Johnson walk away from Planned Parenthood), at a special two-part workshop. The first part will be held Thursday, September 15th, from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. at St. Robert Bellarmine Parish at 119th & Pacific streets. The second part will be an observation and prayer time in front of the Carhart abortion clinic in Bellevue on Friday, September 16th, at 7:30 a.m.

The cost for the workshop is $25 and includes training materials and light dinner on Thursday. You must register in advance by contacting Stacey Floersch at SJFloersch@gmail.com or sending a check to: Coalition for Life c/o Stacey Floersch, 15725 California St., Omaha, NE 68118.

September 27 through 30

Jim Sedlak, founder of Stop Planned Parenthood International, is coming to Nebraska to conduct special training workshops and informational talks in five of the communities Planned Parenthood would like to open offices. His speaking schedule is below. Training workshops will provide information on how to keep PP out of a community. The general audience talks will explain why it is important to keep PP out.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27-NORTH PLATTE

7:00 to 9:00 pm

Training Workshop

Mid-Plains Community College at North Campus,

1101 Halligan Dr, North Platte

Local Contact: Ed Rieker; 308-530-2862; erieker@wdesignea.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28-NORTH PLATTE

NOON

General Audience Talk

Depot Restaurant

520 N. Jeffers St., North Platte

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28-KEARNEY

7:00 to 9:00 pm

Training Workshop

Good Samaritan Hospital Conference Center (Room E and F)

10 E. 31st St. (31st and Central Ave), Kearney

Local Contact: Ken Vyvlecka; 308-627-4797; kenv@familyop.com

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29-KEARNEY

NOON

General Audience Talk

Trinity Presbyterian Church

3910 22nd Ave,

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29-DONIPHAN (G.I/HASTINGS)

7:00 to 9:00 pm

Training Workshop

St. Ann’s Catholic Church Hall

202 N. 5th, Doniphan

Local Contacts:

Grand Island: Barb Jones; 308-384-8032; ducklady208@aol.com

Hastings: Connie Consbruck; 402-751-2368; concon@gtmc.net

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30-HASTINGS

NOON

General Audience Talk

Valentino’s Restaurant

Hastings604 S. Burlington Ave,

Local Contact: Connie Consbruck; 402-751-2368; concon@gtmc.net

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 7:00 TO 9:00 pm-FREMONT

7:00 to 9:00 pm

Training Workshop

Trinity Lutheran Church

16th & Luther Road, Fremont

Local Contact: Jan Ortmeier, 402-721-2196, donjan40@aol.com

Tell Congress to Protect Conscience Rights

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:19:02 +0000

This is a call for action: the conscience rights of Americans are under attack. We must urge Congress to protect our conscience rights by supporting the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.
The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) by the 111th Congress in March 2010 created unparalleled threats to the conscience rights of insurers and purchasers of insurance. The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, introduced by Representative Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) in the House and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) in the Senate, amends the PPACA to protect individual rights of conscience, including the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health care coverage that is consistent with one’s religious beliefs and moral convictions.
The recent regulation issued by the Department of Health and Human Services mandating that all insurance plans provide coverage of all FDA-approved contraceptives—including the abortion-inducing drug ella—marks perhaps the greatest attack on conscience rights in American history. This mandate forces Americans to subsidize abortion-inducing drugs and devices with their insurance premiums, thereby violating the conscience rights of countless Americans. The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act prohibits the PPACA from mandating that health plans offer coverage for items or services contrary to the sponsor, issuer, or other entity’s religious beliefs or moral convictions, and ensures that health plan issuers or health care providers are not forced to provide coverage for items or services contrary to their conscience.
Follow this link to contact your representatives while they are home in their districts during the August recess. Ask them to co-sponsor the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act to ensure the conscience rights of Americans are protected.
Importantly, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act also safeguards health care providers from being coerced to participate in, provide, or refer for a specific item or service contrary to the provider’s religious beliefs or moral convictions. Passage of this bill is essential to preserve the conscience rights that form the bedrock of American freedom.
Tell your representatives to safeguard the ideal which Thomas Jefferson described as the most “dear” provision of the Constitution, “protect[ing] the rights of conscience against the enterprises of civil authority.” Ask them to co-sponsor the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.

Conscience Rights Violated by Sweeping HHS Contraceptive Mandate

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:16:38 +0000

Conscience Rights Violated by Sweeping HHS Contraceptive Mandate

In implementing the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( the new health care reform law) The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a rule requiring almost all private health plans to cover contraception and sterilizations as “preventive services” for women. The mandate even forces individuals and groups with religious or more objections to purchase and provide such coverage if they are to receive or provide health coverage at. This poses and unprecedented threat to individual and institutional religious freedom.

Action: Please send and e-mail message to HHS by visiting Nancy.lee@hhs.gov, also to your Representatives in Congress, urging them to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. (H.R.1179/S.1467, to ensure that such federal mandates do not violate Americans’ moral and religious

Message to HHS “Pregnancy is not a disease, and drugs and surgeries to prevent it are not basic health care that the government should require all Americans to purchase. Please remove sterilization and prescription contraceptives from the list of ‘preventive services’ the federal government is mandating in private health plans. It is especially important to exclude and drug that may cause an early abortion, and to fully respect religious freedom as other federal laws do. The narrow religious exemption in HHS’s new rule protects almost no one. I urge you to allow all organizations and individuals to offer, sponsor and obtain health coverage that does not violate their moral ad religious convictions. Deadline September 30
Ann Marie Bowen
Nebraskans United for Life
143 S. 38th st Suite B
Omaha, NE 68131
Voice: (402) 399-0299
Fax: (402) 399-0501

Please let me know if you can help

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:15:50 +0000

For the last 2 weeks the abortion center has been open on Wednesday and Thursday. Last week we were caught totally off guard. I called the Director of the Coalition for Life office in German Town, Maryland to see if he could help us in anyway determine when Carhart would be in Bellevue. I was surprised when he told me that Carhart was in Maryland on Monday. How could this be possible for him to be doing late term abortions in Maryland but only be there one day? I asked him to check to see if he possibly might be starting abortions on Saturdays and finishing up on Mondays. He said he would but he also said that they think that he might have an assistant in Maryland who could possibly be finishing the late term abortions.

I do not know what the answer is yet BUT what I do know is we need to cover Wednesday and Thursday. I know if he has changed his schedule permanently seeing most of the women on Wednesday is to his advantage because he knows we are divided between Bellevue and the PP in Omaha.

Please consider coming to Bellevue on Wednesday. If you could come for an hour or two starting at 7:30 or 8:00 that would be great. Last Thursday we had three people coming at 7:30 but by the time I got there at about 7:25 all the moms were already in, so if he is open on Wednesday this week we need people that could be at the mill by 6:30 or 7:00.

Please let me know if you can help.

God Bless,
Liz

Parental Consent Bill advanced

admin — Tue, 24 May 2011 07:31:38 +0000

Parental Consent Bill advanced.

Nebraska Lawmakers moved forward with the parental consent law (LB 690) with strong support (33-7) Wednesday, May 18th. This bill would allow a minor whose parents attempted to force her to get an abortion
to become emancipated so she would get public assistance to support her and newborn child.

A summary of the days activities can be found Here.

Nebraskans United for Life would like to thank the following senators for their support on this bill:

Greg Adams
Annette Dubas
Dave Bloomfield
John Harms
Beau McCoy
Paul Schumacher
Deb Fischer
Lavon Heidemann
Heath Mello
Jim Smith
Lydia Brasch
Mike Flood
Russ Karpisek
John Nelson
Tom Carlson
Tony Fulton
Bob Krist
Jeremy Nordquist
Dennis Utter
Colby Coash
Galen Hadley
Tyson Larson
Scott Price
Thomas Hansen
Scott Lautenbaugh
Abbie Cornett
Ken Schilz
Mark Christensen
Mike Gloor
Chris Langemeier
Pete Pirsch
Norman Wallman
Kate Sullivan

Please, write them to thank them as well.

ACLU & PP to Stop Parental Consent Bill

admin — Mon, 23 May 2011 07:20:16 +0000

ACLU & Planned Parenthood Working Hard to Stop Parental Consent Bill Today at Unicameral
The parental consent bill (LB 690) is coming up for another round of debate later this afternoon or early evening.

The ACLU and Planned Parenthood are at the Unicameral today working in full force. They are actively working the bill with senators Conrad, Cook, Council and Ken Haar.

Please pray that the debate for this bill would go well and for Senator Lydia Brasch, who has made this her priority bill.

The bill needs 33 votes to end the filibuster after four hours of debate. The debate is coming late in the day and will need all pro-life senators to stay at the Capitol to vote FOR this bill.

We ask for your continued voice in helping see this important bill become law.

Please ACT NOW to encourage your Senator to stay at the Capitol today for the debate and to vote FOR parental consent (LB 690).

Parental consent laws protect the health and welfare of minors by allowing parents to be directly involved in the medical decisions of their pregnant minor daughter.

It is inexcusable for the State to obstruct a parent-child relationship, especially in such a life-altering situation.

From what we know from evidence in other states, implementing parental consent in Nebraska means saving as many as 100 Nebraska babies this coming year.

Web cam abortion ban advances

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 07:26:47 +0000

I’m very pleased to inform you that the Nebraska Legislature overwhelmingly advanced LB 521 (the ban on web cam abortions) from General File (first round of debate) to Select File (second round of debate) on a vote of 34 to 9. To see how your senator voted go to: http://www.nebcathcon.org/2011%20Pro%20Life%20Legislation.htm. LB 521 will go through a second round of debate and vote (probably in the next week) before it advances to Final Reading (the last vote before a bill is adopted). Bills adopted by the Legislature then go to the Governor who can sign the bill into law, allow it to become law without his signature or veto it. Governor Heineman will likely sign LB 521 into law.

Thank you to those who called or e-mailed your senator and urged him/her to support this bill. Constituent contact can be very effective in persuading or supporting an elected official’s vote.

Click on the links below to read stories about the advancement of LB 521.

In Christ,

Greg Schleppenbach
Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro Life Activities
Nebraska Catholic Conference

Mother’s day

admin — Tue, 03 May 2011 15:49:07 +0000

Instead of listing your names in the Omaha World Herald (far from a pro-life publication), the Board of NUFL decided to use the money collected this year for billboards around the city/state! Hopefully we can list names at the bottom of the billboard, but regardless, we will list your names on our website as they would have appeared in the World Herald.

Churches have been contacted and we hope to celebrate Mother’s Day with a bouquet of charming babies and moms plastered all over the city. Billboards would be seen daily and celebrate motherhood.

The current locations are:
92nd and Maple
63rd and Ames
Kennedy Freeway Southbound

support HF657 Fetal-Pain

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:45:22 +0000

PLEASE PASS ALONG AN INVITE ALL:

UPDATE: MARTIN CANNON HAS SECURED SMITH PETERSON LAW FIRM, CONFERENCE ROOM, 35 NORTH MAIN STREET (MAIN PLACE), SUITE 300, FOR TOMORROW, THURSDAY, APRIL 21 IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2011, 10:45 A.M. FOR PRESS CONFERENCE. MARTIN, JENIFER AND I BELIEVE THIS TO BE AN IMPACTFUL SITE. THEY HAVE CONFERENCING ABILITIES. (TS BANK IS ALWAYS READY TO HELP, AND WOULD GLADLY SERVE AS BACKUP SITE IF NEEDED.)

BOTTOM LINE:

WHO: ALL PRO-LIFERS
WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE ON HF 657, LATE TERM ABORTION BAN
WHEN: THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2011
WHERE: SMITH PETERSON LAW FIRM, CONFERENCE ROOM,
35 MAIN STREET (MAIN PLACE)
SUITE 300
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA