PA Abortions Increase, Pro-Life Efforts Increase

THE FOLLOWING IS A RELEASE SENT BY EMAIL FROM TOM STEVENS, PRESIDENT OF THE PRO-LIFE UNION OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA

In 2021 there were 3% more abortions in Pennsylvania than in the previous year. The total, 33,206, is the highest number of abortions reported in the past ten years. Half, 16,542, of those abortions occur right in our backyard, the five-county Philadelphia area.

To help understand the sheer magnitude, imagine 16,542 moms or dads pushing a baby in a stroller in a single file. It would be a line that stretches nearly sixteen miles! Imagine one of them being your grandchild or child, nephew or niece.

This is why the Pro-Life Union believes that we can’t protect the right to life as a single organization. Instead, we need to support our associate member organizations, work with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and independent churches, and anyone who will join us in the effort. Pregnancy resource centers like Hope Pregnancy and AlphaCare are part of the solution.

The Pro-Life Union and Catholic Social Services partnership at the Cenacle in Frankford serving more than one thousand vulnerable families is part of the answer. Adoption is a Loving Option, Culture Project, Students for Life, and other groups reaching out to students are a significant part of the effort. Forty Days for Life, Sidewalk Servants, and others organizing volunteers to serve in front of abortion centers are rescuing babies (and women) in another way.

Chester County Pro-Life Coalition and their March for Life and sponsorship of the name? ‘TOB for young women’ is another part of the prevention. You can meet many of these resource providers on April 1st at the Life Advocate Resource Conference. Many churches working together to provide solutions will also be present.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” — John 1:5

PRO-LIFERS STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH MARK HOUCK

100 pro-lifers from near and far gathered outside of the federal building in Old City Philadelphia to stand with Mark Houck. The event featured an all-star lineup of speakers with Reverend Bill Devlin serving as the master of ceremonies of the peaceful rally.

In addition to the speaker lineup, representatives from Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising were in town to publicly demonstrate outside of the federal building calling out the hypocrisy of the Justice Department on targeting pro-lifers but not those who vandalized, firebombed, and attacked churches and pregnancy resource centers during the course of the summer of rage. No arrests were made for those crimes.

As the unlawful incident from the FBI has been two weeks, pro-lifers knew that a rally must take place to stand against the tyrannical acts of Garland and Biden’s Justice Department.

There was even a couple who came forward to show a side of Mark Houck the media has failed to cover. He saved a child from being aborted outside of the very Planned Parenthood the incident took place.

A shocking video from the raid has now been released to the public and has been obtained by LifeNews.com regarding a similar raid in Tennessee. It has yet to release a video from Mark Houck’s raid.

See photos from the rally here.

Fall 40 Days for Life Kickoff in Waco

Mayra Rodriquez tells her conversion story and reveals the truth about Planned Parenthood

40 Days for Life Waco had another excellent kickoff event under the direction of Aine Fitzgerald.  The September 27, 2020 event was held at Calvary Chapel in Waco. Over 150 attended.  The featured speaker for the evening was the dynamic and inspirational Mayra Angelica Rodriguez.  You may know her story.  Mayra was an employee, and eventually abortion clinic manager, for the Arizona affiliate a Planned Parenthood.  When Planned Parenthood fired her, she filed in whistleblower lawsuit and defeated the “mighty” Goliath of the abortion industry. 

The other speakers were Aine Fitzgerald, Rev. Albert Fuentes, the lead pastor of Calvary Chapel Waco and Rev. Derrick Watley, the lead pastor of Mighty Wind Worship Center and board member of Care Net Pregnancy Center of Waco. 

For the first time 40 Days for Life in Waco, the PP abortion center is shutdown.  However, the facility is still counseling women to abortions committed in other states and also delivering so-called healthcare.  Pro-lifers in Central Texas work and pray for the day when the nearest Planned Parenthood will not be in Waco.

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Public Square Mobilization and Outreach

FBI WEAPONIZED AGAINST PRO-LIFERS, NOT SUSPECTS IN SUMMER OF RAGE

The events in Pennsylvania and Minnesota show that Biden’s endgame is to use the FBI against a peaceful group of people.

Mark Houck of Bucks County, PA, and the sidewalk servants in St. Paul, MN were recently raided by the FBI over potential violations of the FACE Act. For Mark, he was willing to discuss the issue peacefully, yet the FBI raided his home on Friday. The scene can be described as something out of a TV drama show. His family has been shaken and the community has helped them cover court costs.

Recently, Brian Gibson shared the news of two sidewalk advocates in St. Paul, MN who were interrogated by the FBI on a similar incident to that of Mark.

Brian went on to say that he has never seen the FBI this interested in these incidents ever.

What is astonishing is the FBI, corrupted as it is, has not arrested radical pro-aborts involved with the summer of rage. The “summer of rage” saw a surge in vandalism, arson, and attacks on the Catholic Church and even pro-lifers. Yet, when it came down to investigating or making arrests, the FBI turned a blind eye when it came to the real terrorists.

Shame on them!

RECAP ON THE GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY IN PHILLY

The following is from an email blast sent by Dr. Monique Ruberu

Abortion is the evilest sin of all time. Ending the life of an innocent child, harming the mother and father in the process, ending the lifeline of people that were intended to come from that child – there is no good… the only chance of good comes from repentance, compassion, the love, the courage that we respond with through the grace of God alone. 

When we are out there yes we will be persecuted, yes people will say unkind things to us, yes they may try to provoke us into responding with anger. We can choose to respond with pity, with prayer, with love. 

In the midst of this persecution, there are beautiful moments… like today at 777 when a young African American young man who was biking food around the city stopped and watched for a long time with tear-filled eyes… after about 30 minutes I approached him… “you’ve been standing here a long time… are you ok? I know it’s a hard place to be…” he responded with tears in his eyes, “this is truly spiritual warfare”  Yes it is… but we know that God wins in the end. He got it… 

Recently we have had a few incidents you may have heard about through the news or the grapevine. 

STAND WITH MARK

This is the report I received from Pat: Months ago our awesome Mark Houck leader of the King’s Men was praying outside the abortion center with his child. The male escort (identified as Bruce Love) who often harasses many of us decided to pick on Mark and his child. Mark initially moved across the street and then moved back to the corner to pray. When he came back to the corner the escort started harassing Mark’s son again and Mark pushed him away. The escort dramatically fell to the ground feigned injury and called the police. Mark was at no time preventing women from entering 12th – this went on to a court proceeding which was then dropped because it was obvious that there was no intent to prevent people from entering and Bruce never appeared. 

This morning swat teams showed up at Mark’s house shackled him at gunpoint and totally traumatized his family… he had a hearing and praise God on the feast of Padre Pio (yesterday) he was released by the hour of mercy.  Mark has been offered representation and many public figures are speaking up on the injustice of this… please pray for him, for his and his family’s safety, and for peace in his family. 

Please contribute to the give-send-go organized for Mark and his fam. He is a missionary… there will be lawyers fees to pay in the near future and his family needs to be supported to help them heal…

https://www.givesendgo.com/prolifefamily

A few days ago we had an instance where a girl stole the signs and box while two prayer warriors were present- she took everything into the planned parenthood courtyard and then she used a 6-inch military knife and started cutting up the signs. The prayer warriors called 911 and after 20 minutes they hadn’t responded so they made the right choice and left. Unfortunately, the girl continued to follow them and harass them. 

Ultimately they split up and they managed to lose her. 

These are probably the most aggressive instances we have had downtown… we can decide to stay at home and refuse to stand up for these innocent lives for fear of facing people like this or we can continue to stand firm for what is right. We can show up with love and with friends. We can pray and bring the strongest weapon – the rosary to defeat the devil at those gates. We can continue to offer love, prayer, and compassion to save lives. 

Pat also shared this beautiful report with me…

Mom and dad came to pp last Jan and ran into pro-life warriors. They changed their minds and the little boy was born early Thursday morning. The stroller and crib were delivered and newborn diapers are on the way. This child is here because we were there.

40 days for life begins worldwide this Wednesday. Please join us out there to fill in the gaps and ensure we have a loving, peaceful, prayerful presence out there. 

We definitely need help next Saturday at 12th and Locust all day from 8-1 pm 

We are looking for individuals who can help with security out there as well if you have any leads please let us know. 

LOCAL PRO-LIFER RAIDED BY FBI; ARE GARLAND AND SHAPIRO INVOLVED?

This morning, the FBI raided the home of Mark Houck. It was terrifying as the agency continued its power-grabbing agenda to target those who stand against the Biden administration.

According to the FBI, Houck was indicted for violating the FACE Act. The FACE Act, passed in 1994, amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) intentionally injuring, intimidating, or interfering with, or attempting to injure, intimidate, or interfere, any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction because that person is or has been, or in order to intimidate such person or any other person or any class of persons from, obtaining or providing reproductive health services. He did nothing wrong.

LET’S SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Last fall, Houck and his son were covering a shift outside of Planned Parenthood in Center City Philadelphia during the 40 Days for Life campaign when an escort, identified as Bruce Love of Norristown, was harassing Mark’s seven-year-old son. Mark intervened as Bruce faked a violent altercation between each other. His son was traumatized by Bruce’s action as they served him with a harassment complaint to the Philadelphia Police Department. The facility dismissed Bruce, yet he was allowed to volunteer at Philadelphia Women’s Center. Bruce failed to show up for court.

Today’s actions by the FBI show that it is an overreach and power grab. Even Josh Shapiro and Merrick Garland would do anything to silence pro-lifers even before President Biden’s tyrannical speech he gave in Philadelphia earlier this month. This is only the beginning as the tide has turned. There will be many more who will face the same persecution as Mark did. We must be vigilant. We must double our efforts. We must not give up or give in to the progressive mob.

We must stand together and shout from the mountaintops about our pro-life convictions. We must not be afraid to stand up for what is true, good, and beautiful. We must protect what matters the most and that is family, marriage, and children (born and unborn).

They’ve just begun. They will lose this war.

Stand firm. Soldier on. Pray without ceasing.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

12 SAVES DURING SPRING 2022 40 DAYS CAMPAIGN

Twelve little souls were saved that we know of because of your prayers, your fasting, your love… your presence!!!  PRAISE GOD!!!!! 

Almost every hour was covered with prayer on the sidewalk… hours of prayer and witness resulted in 12 known lifelines which will lead to 100’s of other people coming from each of those babies. 

NOW, YOU’RE NEEDED TO FILL EVERY HOUR MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

Learn more here. Your presence is needed

Happy Easter!!!!! The Lord Is Risen!

PHOTOS FROM GOOD FRIDAY PRO-LIFE WITNESS WITH MISSION YOUTH PHILLY

READ AN ARTICLE RECAP OF GOOD FRIDAY’S EVENT HERE

#SAYTHEIRNAMES: Ángel, Holly, Phoenix, Harriet and Christopher

News broke last week of the discovery of five babies who were murdered by means of infanticide in our nation’s capital. Tragic.

The suspected abortionist was exposed by Live Action who admitted that he won’t help any baby that survives an abortion.

This is a tragedy. Even lawmakers, Department of Justice, and others refuse to pay attention to the injustice that is happening in Washington. They also refuse to investigate.

Is this Gosnell 2.0?

We must take action today. Students for Life is leading the way and you can participate today. Help them bring justice to the five babies left to die.

40 DAYS FOR LIFE PREVIEW: PHILADELPHIA WOMEN’S CENTER

We continue our 40 Days for Life preview series. The second vigil site is no stranger to every pro-lifer in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Philadelphia Women’s Center, which sits five floors above a daycare, accounts for 6500 murders a year. 90% of the victims are African-American.

In its 11th campaign, pro-lifers have stepped up their game. They overcame jeers from Heather, the security guard, one escort named Shawn resorted to violence last year against an elderly pro-lifer, but it got him into hot water and told to never return. They even overcame scare tactics from Lynne Molter, professor at Swarthmore University, who videotapes pro-lifers being peacefully present. In the end, pro-lifers have persevered from time to time.

The hour of operations are from Tuesdays to Saturday from 7 AM to 4PM. They are closed on Sundays and Mondays.

To sign up for vigil hours, visit here.

The campaign will run from Ash Wednesday (March 2nd) through Saturday April 9th. Bring a friend or two with you.