Why Not Let Her Choose Life?

Pro-Abortion Activists Oppose Life Saving Bills

“I had two abortions when I was a teenager, mostly because Planned Parenthood was what was in my neighborhood and I didn’t know I had other options… I wish I would have known it was a life I was carrying. I would have benefitted from a program like the Family Health Pilot Program…I could have used someone to walk me through the process. Women should know they have options.” – Lori Zee Gray

Testimony from Lori Zee Gray put a human face on what opponents have made a contentious issue at the state Capitol. Gray told her story to both lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee and representatives on the House Health and Human Services Committee this week in support of HB2388 and SB1328. The bills would fund the Family Health Pilot Program, which connects with women seeking an abortion and helps meet their needs so they might choose life for their babies.

A similar program in Texas has found that the majority of women considering an abortion are doing so because of social or economic challenges, whether it be finances, employment, stable housing, or transportation.

So, the program in Texas provides supportive counseling, comprehensive social services needs’ assessment, comprehensive care plan to address major needs, assistance identifying and accessing needed public and private social programs in client’s community, regular and ongoing follow-up, and virtual childbirth and parenting classes. By providing these services, more than half of the clients choose to forego an abortion and instead continue their pregnancy.

Who could oppose that? Unfortunately, pro-abortion activists flooded the hearings with misleading and down right false claims about the program and Pregnancy Resource Centers. They also used scare tactics in an effort to stop the bill from moving forward.

A Few Of Their Outrageous, False Claims:

• Planned Parenthood provides mammograms – Truth: Planned Parenthood does zero mammograms.
• The Family Health Program violates privacy – Truth: The program sends information to women seeking abortions, but knows nothing personal about the woman. It gathers no personal data without the women’s permission. It is completely voluntary.
• Women need Planned Parenthood – Truth: There are less than ten Planned Parenthoods in Arizona, compared to nearly 200 women’s health clinics that provide more services – but not abortions.
• There’s no accountability – Truth: There is a monthly reporting requirement for the similar program in Texas. The Arizona Department of Health Services will determine what reporting criteria they need from the program.

Thankfully, Representative Nancy Barto, HB2388 bill sponsor, Representative Michelle Udall, SB1328 sponsor, Senator Rick Gray, myself and others countered these false charges and both bills passed out of their respective committees.

No doubt, you will read a very different version in the news, but now you are armed with the facts. Read the bills on our bill tracker here and here. Read our fact sheet here.

You can watch video of yesterday’s hearing here.

I will certainly keep you updated on this important prolife legislation!

ICYMI

• Al Mohler addresses the drama that is the impeachment trial on yesterday’s The Briefing. He also has a warning of sorts for those who hold to religious convictions in the age of changing sexual ethics.
• Susan B Anthony List highlights President Trump’s State of the Union speech in which he calls out supporters of radical abortion laws, and celebrates life by introducing one of the youngest preemies, born at less than 21 weeks and six days weeks – now a healthy two year old.
• The Federalist has the extreme abortion views of one man who wants to be president, even misusing his religion to justify very late term abortion.

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