PRAY HARD and CONTACT YOUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- With the bare minimum needed, Senate Democrats voted on Saturday night to begin the official debate and amendment process for a health care reform bill that allows for massive abortion funding. The measure sponsored by Senate leader Harry Reid could fund hundreds of thousands of abortions. The vote split entirely on party lines with 60 Democrats voting to break the Republican filibuster supported by 39 party members in the Senate.

Several Democrats who may ultimately vote against the bill supported cloture to end debate on the Motion to Proceed.

They included Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, the only Democrats in the Senate who call themselves pro-life and pro-abortion Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, who joins then in wanting a Stupak-like amendment to ban the abortion funding.

Democrats in swing states, like Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman -- each of whom could ultimately vote against the bill -- also supported cloture and the Motion to Proceed on debate. They said they hope to see the bill amended to correct some of their concerns.

But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the best opportunity to change the bill is to defeat it.

"The best opportunity to change the bill would be at the beginning," he said. "Denying the majority leader the vote he needs to start the bill would have empowered any Democratic senator who is truly interested in making a change, whether the change was on abortion [or other issues] ... The time of maximum leverage would have been prior to tonight's vote."

The abortion funding comes in both the public option as well as through the affordability credits.

Americans United for Life Action president Charmaine Yoest talked with LifeNews.com about the vote.

“Senator Reid’s bill provides for an unprecedented expansion of federally-funded abortion," she said. "The majority of Americans who oppose federal funding of abortion will not stand for policies that force them into paying for abortions under the guise of health care reform.”

She said the bill contains five major threats to pro-life principles.

Read the rest of the story here.

Abortion funding IS in new bill

If you've been following the health care debate over the past few weeks, you know that government funding of abortion has taken center stage.

And the battle is just beginning!

Last week, the House of Representatives passed their version of the health care bill and -- thanks to your hard work -- at the eleventh hour, Members voted to include the Stupak-Pitts Amendment which blocked the abortion mandate and maintained the status quo by ensuring that government funds will not be used to pay for abortions or abortion coverage.

The second wave of this fight began last night in the U.S. Senate when Majority Leader Harry Reid released his 2,074 page version of the Senate health care reform bill -- at an estimated price of $890 BILLION.

This bill does NOT include the Stupak-Pitts language and instead does the exact opposite of Stupak-Pitts.

While Stupak-Pitts would have ensured that elective abortion was kept out of the public plan, the Senate language explicitly authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Kathleen Sebelius, raging abortion advocate from Kansas) to include abortion in the public option.

While Stupak-Pitts would prohibit government subsidies from contributing to insurance policies that include elective abortion, the Senate language permits government subsidies for plans that pay for abortion.

Even MSNBC reported this morning that the Senate bill "would allow the new government insurance plan to cover abortions and would let companies that receive federal funds offer insurance plans that include abortion coverage."

Bottom-line: the proposed Senate health care reform bill DOES include government funding of abortion -- as long as the President's appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services wants it.

Experts believe that the vote on "Cloture" -- which would cut off debate and force the bill to the Senate floor -- will happen this week, probably on Saturday.

This is THE VOTE, as 60 votes can invoke "Cloture" on the health care reform bill. If that passes, only a simple majority will be needed to ram through the entire health care bill -- even if it still includes government-funded abortion.

Contact your two U.S. Senators TODAY and tell them:
"Unless any health care bill includes the Stupak- Pitts language -- at a BARE MINIMUM -- a vote for Cloture is a vote for government funded abortion!"

Act now:
http://www.StopTheAbortionMandate.com

Don't be fooled! Led by Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion chain (that stands to rake in billions of dollars from the current health care proposals) abortion proponents have been mobilizing to ensure that the Stupak-Pitts Amendment will not make it into the Senate health care bill.

Don't take our word for it. See for yourself:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org

They are distorting the facts, saying that the Stupak-Pitts Amendment deviates from the "status quo." Nothing could be further from the truth -- and they know it. The status quo since 1973 is that the government does not pay for abortions due to the Hyde Amendment.

This position is supported by a strong majority of Americans. CNN released a poll yesterday confirming that "six in ten Americans favor a ban on the use of federal funds for abortion."

But the House health care bill -- before the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was added -- bypassed the Hyde Amendment and, as media sources confirmed, would have directly funded abortion with government dollars.

The Stupak-Pitts Amendment maintains the status quo position supported by the majority of Americans.

To clear up any confusion, a side-by-side comparison of the Hyde Amendment and the Stupak-Pitts Amendment has been created so you can see for yourself that Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry are being blatantly dishonest:
http://www.StopTheAbortionMandate.com

Now it's time to act!
Contact your two U.S. Senators TODAY and tell them:
"Unless any health care bill includes the Stupak- Pitts language -- at a BARE MINIMUM -- a vote for Cloture is a vote for government-funded abortion!"

For Life,

Stop the Abortion Mandate Coalition
http://www.StopTheAbortionMandate.com

A Newborn's Conversation with God

Thanks to MWC board member Jennifer Moreau for sending the following. She's right when she says that it is precious and goes to the heart of MWC!

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to Earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"
God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"
God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"
God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"
God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking her life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."
God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard, and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
God said, "You will simply call her, 'Mom'."

Give to the Max Day is tomorrow!

Help our organization expand our Amazing Grace Maternity Home Fund on Tuesday, November 17, and have your gift matched!

Support Metro Women's Center on Give to the Max Day, Tuesday, November 17 when half a million dollars will be on the table for 24 hours (or until $500,000 has been given away) to nonprofits through www.giveMN.org. The giving begins at 8:00 a.m. sharp!

GiveMN.org is the new online resource that helps Minnesotans discover, support and engage with charities like Metro Women's Center. Please visit Metro Women's Center at GiveMN.org. Click DONATE to show your support.

More About November 17 ... day intended to inspire unprecedented levels of charitable giving in the state of Minnesota!

Give to the Max Day will feature ...
... zero transaction costs. Transaction costs for gifts made on Give to the Max Day at GiveMN will be covered, so 100 percent of gifts will go straight to nonprofits.
... the perfect match. Every donation made on Give to the Max Day at GiveMN will receive a portion of a $500,000 match*.
... a little friendly competition. Grants will be awarded to the three nonprofits that have the largest number of individuals who make donations during Give to the Max Day at GiveMN.

Maximize your contribution!
Maximize your impact!
Maximize the power of online giving!

Give to the Max Day begins at 8 a.m. on November 17 and ends at 8 a.m. on November 18. To be eligible for Give to the Max Day incentives, all donations must be made to Minnesota nonprofits through GiveMN.

*The exact amount matched per dollar donated will be determined after Give to the Max Day concludes, and the $500,000 in matching funds will be divided by the total donation amount raised over the 24-hour period.

Thanks so much for helping us help women!

Obama Will Remove Abortion Funding Ban From Health Care Bill, Advisor Says

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com)

-- Top Obama advisor David Axelrod on Sunday confirmed what pro-life advocates already suspected would happen. He said President Barack Obama will work with congressional Democrats to remove the abortion funding ban the House approved in its version of the government-run health care bill.

Axelrod says that, because the Stupak amendment allegedly goes beyond the status quo under the Hyde amendment (which bans abortion funding under Medicaid), Obama will make sure the amendment is yanked during the conference committee. That's the part of the legislative process that will occur if and when the Senate approves its own health care bill, which will likely start debate with abortion funding.

"The president has said repeatedly, and he said in his speech to Congress, that he doesn't believe that this bill should change the status quo as it relates to the issue of abortion," Axelrod said today on CNN's State of the Union program. "This shouldn't be a debate about abortion. And he's going to work with Senate and the House to try and ensure that at the end of the day, the status quo is not changed," he added. "I believe that there are discussions ongoing to how to adjust it accordingly."

Axelrod said that an agreement with ruling Democrats in Congress to remove the ban on taxpayer funding of abortions "can and will be worked through before it reaches his desk."

Full story at LifeNews.com

This Obscene Silence

This Obscene Silence
by Jeff Ostrander

Eerie, isn’t it?
This sense of well-being?
This sleepy, dreamy ocean of regularity
that gently laps against our consciousness;
cautioning against extremes, reciting the need for security,
reminding of little jobs to be done around the house;
all in a voice so smooth and steady and faint
that we hear no voice at all.

This tender wooing toward self-absorption
does not deny the reality of bigger principles;
ideas that brave men might swallow death to defend.
No, the quiet voice commends such ideas as marvelous,
acknowledges their defenders to be saints and heroes.
“Amazing people,” it croons, “People of destiny.”
“Worthy of admiration, not the normal sort like us.”

And so our hunger for justice is lost.
Not demolished, but disarmed.
Not attacked, but abstracted beyond use.
Like a highly-polished sword,
glimmering in the museum
while the unprotected city
is slaughtered outside.

“Jesus loves the little children.”
Of course. And here they are,
being dismembered all over town.
Too bad, really. Someone should do something.
Seems like the saints and heroes
would have shown up by now.

It is quiet in the city, quiet in the churches.
We have built a peace that dying children do not disturb.
Funny, isn’t it, how life goes on?

“Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, “Surely we did not know this,”
Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?”
Proverbs 24:11-12

“Defend the poor and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy;
Free them from the hand of the wicked.”
Psalm 82:3-4

House Approves Stupak-Pitts Amendment

All of your letters and calls paid off!

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to H.R. 3962, by a vote of 240 to 194, with 64 Democratic members voting in favor of the amendment to ban federal funding of abortion in the health care bill.

This is a great victory for the pro-life movement and for all SBA List members who so diligently contacted their Representatives leading up to the vote. With the adoption of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, the House of Representatives made a principled and sound decision to continue our nation’s long-standing policy of protecting taxpayers’ consciences in the area of abortion funding.

In the coming weeks, we will remain vigilant and shift our efforts to the Senate to ensure that these same pro-life protections are included in the Senate bill. We fully expect that pro-abortion leaders will still try to find ways to sneak abortion funding into health care.

For now, though, let's celebrate this great victory for unborn children and women. Thank you for all of your efforts in defense of LIFE. Together we can save countless unborn lives.

Follow up from Stop the Abortion Mandate Coalition

"Abortion may imperil health bill" screamed the Washington Post headline this morning -- following last night's massive "Stop the Abortion Mandate" webcast that brought over 11,000 pro-lifers together with only 13 hours' notice. If you missed the live event, the entire audio recording has now been posted online at: http://www.StopTheAbortionMandate.com

During the recording of the live event, you'll hear from nationally respected leaders including:

* REP. CHRIS SMITH, U.S. House of Representatives
* MARJORIE DANNENFELSER, Susan B. Anthony List
* CHARMAINE YOEST, Americans United for Life
* KRISTAN HAWKINS, Students for Life of America
* DAVID BEREIT, 40 Days for Life
* WENDY WRIGHT, Concerned Women for America
* DOUGLAS JOHNSON, National Right to Life Committee
* KRISTEN DAY, Democrats for Life
* DEIRDRE MCQUADE, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
* DR. DAVID STEVENS, Christian Medical & Dental Associations

During the recording, you will:

* Hear the LATEST UPDATES straight from our nation's capital...
* Learn exactly how abortion IS mandated in the proposed health care reform bills...
* ...And discover what YOU can do about it!

Listen now at: http://www.StopTheAbortionMandate.com

Don't stop calling your elected officials! Don't stop e-mailing your representatives! The time is NOW to tell Congress:
"Remove all abortion funding and mandates from health care reform!"
Abortion is NOT health care, and our government should NOT fund it.

In addition to listening to the webcast recording, please also watch and forward this 2-minute video of many of the pro-life leaders you heard from last night talking about how crucial this battle is for the pro-life movement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RD7hJhwy5g

As you heard last night, if the health care bill passes in its current form, it will be the largest expansion of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade.

THIS week is CRUCIAL!

If you haven't called your Member of Congress this week, do it now. If you haven't e-mailed your member of Congress this week, do it now.

ACTION ITEMS:

1.) Listen to the Stop the Abortion Mandate webcast recording at: http://www.StopTheAbortionMandate.com

2.) Contact your Representative and two Senators and tell them to remove all abortion funding and mandates from health care reform. Contact your Members here: http://tinyurl.com/yg6jot5

3.) Spread the word about the abortion mandate in health care reform by asking friends, family members, co-workers, and fellow believes to watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RD7hJhwy5g

4.) Pray for our elected officials. Pray that our nation -- founded on the inalienable right to life -- does not allow its government to fund the destruction of human life at its most vulnerable stage.