Heartbeat Press - October 2024 Edition

Dead Eyes - Windows to Troubled Souls 

    A cold wind whistles low across the leaf-barren trees, and the murky darkness grows ever so slightly. A distant door slams, raising all the hairs on the back of your neck. A low chuckle rises from an unseen throat hidden somewhere in the shadows moments before a bolt of lightning suddenly illuminates the sky above you. For one brief moment you are face-to-face with a horrible, shallow-faced figure with beady dark eyes that flash with the lightning but reflect absolutely no light. In another instant, the world is dark again and you are seemingly alone. Except you know you're not. That thing with the empty eyes is still there, its presence permeating every fiber of your being, letting you know that it is sickeningly real and very close by. 

    Have you ever looked into someone's eyes only to see nothing looking back at you? Not a thought, not a hope, no soul to speak of...simply an empty vessel? As the description above suggests, this type of creature is something you would normally only expect to encounter in a gothic, black and white horror movie (see anything Universal or Hammer House of Horror ever made), accompanied by special effects and precisely-timed jump scares for the best entertainment. Yet, more and more, this type of creature can be seen in the real world and is more common then anyone may realize. You only need to look into its eyes to identify it. The abortion doctor is one of these creatures. As melodramatic as this sounds, one look into the eyes of any abortion-committing individual proves my point, as even the deepest of stares reveal only a beady emptiness and a total lack of empathy that stretches to the black pits of these individuals' souls. Abortion history also proves my point.

    - Kermit Gosnell, previously covered in Heartbeat Press' October 2022 Edition, had no humanity behind his eyes, only an inky blackness that sucked inward indefinitely. Years of legally-committed murder and deftly-hidden serial killer behavior rotted his soul, eventually leading to his imprisonment without possibility of parole, but not before hundreds of children and at least one woman met their ends at the hands of the former doctor. 

    - Dr. Josef Mengele, the Holocaust's notorious "Angel of Death," who experimented on captive Jews during World War II, escaped The Nuremburg Trials of 1945 but went on to apply his "talents" to "women's healthcare" in Argentina. Operating out of back-alley clinics and keeping a low profile, Mengele preformed abortions and also had empty eyes that were ever-glinty in the pursuit of his trade of death. Mengele never faced justice for his crimes, Holocaust or abortion, and, like many abortionists, never showed remorse for his intentional ending of human life.

    - Even Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood's founder and golden child, covered in Heartbeat Press' October 2023 Edition, had ebony eyes that whispered of the deadly intent the woman had. Her work alone irreversibly bolstered abortion in the USA and led to the corruption of the 1940s Women's Movement. 

Every one of them willingly destroyed life and every one of them had dead eyes reflecting the absolute blackness of souls that were willing to murder children and destroy mothers in the name of "good," "progress," or "healthcare." But more than the act, the optical calling card (still seen in doctors today) is solidified by the explanation for it, expertly summed up by former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levation. When asked if he saw humanity in aborted babies, the doctor remarked, during a panel discussion for Live Action News, "Did I know those were human being? Absolutely. I...didn't...care." That is what abortion does to those who commit it. It kills their souls and leaves them with nothing behind their eyes but the depth of their sin. 

    But my purpose here is not to demonize these individuals. Their actions are theirs to answer for with or without my condemnation. Rather, my heart cries for each of these monsters because, behind their dark souls and horrendous acts, I can also see the children of God they were meant to be before they sold themselves to evil, as strange as that fact is to realize. Consider for a moment that, under the rot and decay of mechanically-committed murder, the heart of a Child of God, one capable of great good, is still softly beating behind the hollow eyes of every abortion doctor. They just have not yet encountered the all forgiving, world rocking, grace of God. A grace He offers for every sin...even theirs.

    Like every gothic horror monster artfully presented with crackling lighting and foggy stars illuminating their dark eyes, these modern monsters are capable of redemption. If they weren't, Abby Johnson, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, and Dr. Noreen Johnson wouldn't have the awe-inspiring testimonies that make them Pro-Life powerhouses today. A complete soul change is possible; it is God-timed, but until it occurs I encourage you to remember Jeremiah 33:8 and meditate on God's plan for everyone's redemption. As foreign as it sounds, I encourage you to pray for the modern monster that is the abortion doctor. Pray that their hearts would begin to beat again and that the blindness would fall from their eyes. God has a powerful plan for each one of them; their redemption stories just haven't started yet. 

Resources: Live Action News, Google, Wikipedia, YouTube

Photo Credit: Dr. Health Clinic.com

Leaves

Never has death smelled so sweet,

Or bestowed such music on still, attentive ears.

And yet the leaves live this contradiction,

Every fall.

                

Would that man could do the same. 

Photo Credit: Renee Kurilla

Summer and Autumn

Autumn's glassy fingers have come over the sun,

And rush to wave good bye

To his love, the Summer, as she slips away.

Allow them an embrace of chilly warmth at the horizon.

Summer flees the chill of her love,

Though his embrace is crisp and dear of old.

A parting caress is all she can give his cheek - stay...

"Until next year my beloved."

Photo Credit: Vincent Mallie

Heartbeat Press - September 2024 Edition

A Moment in Time - The Voice of a Culture Saved from Death 

    On a warm, slightly breezy spring day in 2019, dozens of Pro-Lifers milled around behind the curtain of a large out-door stage in New York City. A hundred more stood out front, waiting for the next speaker who was scheduled to appear that day...and Christina Bennett took a moment to breathe and offer up a silent prayer before stepping out from behind the curtain. She wasn't nervous. She had spoken at enough of these events to forgo any pre-speech jitters, but every time she spoke she was reminded of just how powerful her message was. Like everyone here, she cared deeply about the fight for life. But, unlike the majority, this fight was extremely personal to her. She had to convey the depth of this cause every time she spoke, a feat she knew she could only accomplish with the Lord's strength, not her own. 

    Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Christina Bennett almost didn't make it to her birthday. If you were to ask her about it, Bennett would point out that this nearly happened because her mother, a young, single, lower-middle class, Black woman was part of the key demographic Planned Parenthood geared its abortion propaganda towards. To this day, the nation's biggest abortion provider routinely targets "disadvantaged" groups, reasoning that they need access to abortion more than other demographics and providing guilt-free murder enables the company to engage in essential social justice. In 1981, Bennett's mother fell for their highly-polished sales pitch.

    Unexpectedly pregnant and unsure what she should do, Bennett's mother scheduled an abortion, believing it was the only option left to her. She had no support system to speak of, so the facade of care oozing from her neighborhood Planned Parenthood offered a sickly-sweet shoulder to cry on and a "comforting" voice to assure her that the decision she had made, no matter how she might wrestle with it, was the right one. But, when her appointment day arrived, Bennett's mother couldn't shake a nagging feeling of hesitation. She wasn't sure she wanted to go through with the abortion, but as she sat in the doctor's office half-listening to the laundry list of pre-procedure paperwork being rattle off by a facility counselor, she had no time to ask herself what she actually wanted.

    Stepping out into the hallway for a moment, Bennett's mother found herself suddenly overcome with a rush of sadness slamming into her like a wave, causing her to drop to her knees to release great rolling sobs in a desperate attempt to relieve even a small amount of the pressure building inside. She didn't know what she wanted and she had no time to change her mind. What if she made the wrong choice? It was there, in that moment when Bennett's mother was only aware of her own grief, that a soft hand placed itself on her shoulder, causing her to meet the determined gaze of an older African-American woman kneeling on the floor in front of her. "Do you want to have this baby?" the woman asked. Bennett's mother could only stare at the woman through tear-stained eyes, but, almost unconsciously, found herself nodding yes. "Then the Lord will give you the strength of walk out of here." In the holy hush that followed the woman's words, two lives changed forever. Amid a severe onslaught from the abortion doctor, Bennett's mother left the neighborhood Planned Parenthood and kept the baby who would grow up to be a powerful voice in the Pro-Life movement. 

    Christina Bennett knows she should have died that day, and she has never stopped praising God for allowing her to live and share her story with millions of people. Building on the facts mentioned above, Bennett's platform focuses on the "Black Experience" with abortion, namely that it is the culture most targeted by the abortion industry. Research reveals that 16 million Black babies have been aborted since Roe's installation in 1973 (360 every day). Black women (15% of the childbearing population) receive 33% of abortions. And the abortion giant, Planned Parenthood, was founded by a racist who unapologetically promoted the extermination of the Black community through eugenics. And yet abortion is still promoted as a necessity "graciously" given to the Black community. 

    Bennett disagrees. Social justice does not demand the deaths of the innocent as payment for forward movement. The destruction of children and, by default, their mothers' hearts cannot build a brighter future. And the Black community doesn't need abortion to thrive. In fact, it has routinely proven it is more powerful when building its next generation. "This is an extension of the Civil Rights Movement," Bennett proclaimed on that spring day in New York City. This time it will be characterized by the saving of lives instead of a fight for equality. As such, it's time to pick which side of history everyone is going to be on. 

Resources: YouTube.com, CURE

Photo Credit: Focus on the Family.com 

Heartbeat Press - August 2024 Edition

Back to School, Back to the Frontlines - Being a Pro-Life Light Wherever You Are

    Students! Don't panic just yet, but the beginning of your fall semester is right around the corner! It's less than half a month away from some of you. Tires screeching. Panicked screaming. "Oh the humanity!" While I asked you not to panic, many of you just did and, just as quickly, mentally skimmed a list of rapid-fire questions meant to help you prepare for the school year. Questions like, "Where did the summer go?" "Can't I have just one more week off?" "What's my class schedule?" "Am I even signed up for classes?!" "Am I ready to deal with deadlines, professors, and hard work again?" Take a deep breath. More than likely you are exactly where you need to be in order to hit the ground running in September. But it is my hope that parsing through those questions will also spark a few more (sort of school-related) thoughts for those of you with Pro-Life convictions - thoughts that live up to the understanding that being Pro-Life is a demeanor that shouldn't stop once you walk through your university doors. 

    That being said, know that standing up for what you believe in is never easy. All throughout history, but especially in our modern, ultra-self serving society that says everyone must conform to majority morals or be ostracized, separating yourself from that majority to say, "This is what I know to be right and will defend for the sake of those who are in need," takes real determination and a not-insignificant amount of grit. 

    But I want to encourage those of you who have decided that your Pro-Life beliefs are worth hanging onto, even if it means carrying them into a setting that does not show great appreciation for them. By choosing to consider how you can live out your beliefs in front of your peers, you have not only separated yourself from those who prize convenience over truth but you have also answered a call placed on your life that was woven into your heart long before you ever felt it stirring. It's a calling cherished by God. It is much bigger than any nay-saying crowd. And, whatever you do to answer it, that act will matter much more than anything you do in college, your first year as a post-grad, or for the rest of your life. 

    As a Pro-Life college student, you've been given the unique opportunity to shine the light of life into a place unreachable to many others. How amazing that you have been asked to speak to you fellow students about the truth that life is precious, or to come alongside your friend with an unexpected pregnancy to show her that there are better options than abortion, or to minister to a post-abortive classmate who needs comfort and someone to point her towards her first steps of healing. How much more powerful are these acts coming from someone who fights the battle for life from the frontlines, a soldier who sees the hurt clearly enough to go to her own people with the truth and love to heal it, who has the right answers to the questions everyone's asking and doesn't withhold them for fear or majority judgment. That is the opportunity you have been given. Care to take it? 

    Finally, remember that however you choose to live out your Pro-Life convictions, your contribution does not need to be loud, complicated, or bombastic. In fact, many of the most effective ministries are small, relationship-based works of heart that seek first to honor God in what they do. Consider your strengths and how God would have you use them to build your testimony. In this way, you can add a unique talent to the Pro-Life movement and, more importantly, can proudly say you know you did your very best in what God asked you to do. Why not start by looking over the simple starter Pro-Life acts listed below and considering which ones you can bring back to school this fall. 

1. Read Pro-Life books (knowledge is power).

2. Collect contact info for local Pregnancy Resource Centers (to pass along if needed) 

3. Prayer walk around your campus.

4. Ware a "Precious Feet" pin (powerful conversations have been sparked by less).

5. Join or start your school's Pro-Life ministry/chapter

6. Leave Pro-Life material in your school's commons/re-room.

7. Gather friends to pray outside nearby abortion clinics (they are often close to colleges).

8. Wear Pro-Life t-shirts and jackets (consider becoming a Pro-Life brand ambassador).

9. Recommend Pro-Life movies to friends (Bella, Look Both Ways, Lifemark).

10. Draw Pro-Life chalk art around campus. 

Resources: Students for Life of America, Heartbeat Press September 2022 Edition, Heartbeat Press' bi-weekly "Pro-Life Challenges" 

Photo Credit: LNN: Levy News Network 

Heartbeat Press - July 2024 Edition

 Pro-Life Spiderman - A Unique Perspective On A Cause

    The wind whistled past Maison's ear as he reached up to find his next rung of support a full arm's length above his head. Feeling the chilly air pick up speed all around him, he found that next grip quickly but carefully, and pulled himself up to meet it face to face before settling firmly into a stabilizing position: feet planted wide apart, knees steady but not locked, shoulders squared with the rest of his body. In this position, perched atop a skyscraper hundreds of feet above the ground, Maison took a moment to self-assess, body and mind. 

    His fingers were sore. Not horribly so but enough to be noticeable. Realizing this, Maison chuckled to himself. He'd never get used to it. Even after years in this extreme sport, repeatedly exercising the muscles in his hands to cling to small edges for extended periods of time, his hands still cramped at the halfway point of these long ascents, leaving him with a reminder of his own limitations. Limitations he was constantly pushing because he couldn't be satisfied staying stagnant. Logically, Maison knew he would one day reach the end of his ability - a place or skill he just couldn't move past - but he quietly hoped that end would come slowly and only after years of work. After all, he had so much more he wanted to do that just couldn't happen on the ground. Not that any of that mattered now. Maison never liked thinking about the limits of what he could do and up here, at the top of the world, there was no time to dwell on it. Not with his most recent goal so close at hand.

    Banishing dread and the feeling of burning muscles from his mind, Maison looked straight up to see endless blue sky and big fluffy clouds sailing by in the buffeting wind. Another hand hold, identical to the one he now clung to, was almost within reach, as was the next one, and the one after that. "Less than half way to go," he thought. With a final push he would be at the top, his goal would be reached, and a woman would get the help she so desperately needed. But it all relied on his ability to make it all the way up. 

    Steadying himself for the final leg of the journey, Maison chanced a glance down. He wasn't afraid of heights (his task would be physically impossible if he was), but it never ceased to amaze him just how high up his was every time he made a climb. Pedestrians (hundreds of yards below) looked like ants, fire trucks and police cars (all here for him) sat miniature-sized with their flashing lights resembling tiny battery-operated Christmas toys, and even sky scrapers that matched the one he hung from looked small as he watched their floors climb into the sky alongside the identical ones next to him. 

    Up here, in a place only birds and planes could fly and only God could walk, all of it was so small, unimportant. It struck Maison just how miniscule the whole world seemed when compared to his reason for being up here. Maison smiled to himself as he turned his gaze from the ground to look up at the sky once more. That reason was bigger than anything going on on the ground and it was bigger than him. He was just a tiny part of a bigger cause, doing what he could with what he had been given but, as Maison reached up to grab his next hand hold in pursuit of his goal, he couldn't help but be a little proud of the unique part he had been given to play in God's bigger picture. 

    Maison DesChamps, aka Pro-Life Spiderman (first covered by Heartbeat Press for the In the News section of our March 2024 Edition), has been professionally free climbing for years but only began applying his talent to his Pro-Life beliefs in 2023. He's a hero to some and an agitator to others, but one thing is certain: he has wholeheartedly taken up the calling that God has put on his life, as well as the courage of his superhero namesake. 

    Routinely climbing incredibly tall structures, including the Salesforce Tower, the Ritz-Carlton, and the Las Vegas Sphere, to raise the public's awareness of Pro-Life work, DesChamps also performs his stunts to raise money for expectant mothers in need through the Pro-Life charity Let Them Live. He's never fallen, has plans to climb again, and has been arrested several times. But even that has not caused DesChamps to waver in his mission because he recognizes that he has been given a powerful calling and a unique position from which to proclaim the simple truth that, Life is Precious And Worth Protecting.

    Despite his superhero status, DesChamps has never failed to give glory to God (most notably while live streaming from the top of the Las Vegas Sphere during Superbowl weekend), demonstrating that saving life is a mission that goes far beyond a group or one man's ability. It's God's prerogative that we have all been graciously gifted a part in. We just need to be brave enough to take up the task, be it on the ground, in the air, or somewhere in-between. 

Sources: NPR.org, YouTube.com

Photo Credit: LuLu on Pinterest 

Heartbeat Press - June 2024 Edition

Taking Up the Call - Stepping Out In God's Plan    

    Heartbeat Press is two years old! While I am unsure how that happened, I can say that the past two years of work, monthly publications, and news-updating have been a joy and an invaluable experience that I have been blessed to share with all of you. Heartbeat Press was born out of newly-opened eyes and a growing and unshakable conviction that I wasn't doing enough to live my Pro-Life beliefs. While I have, in a sense, always been Pro-Life (having grown up in a Christian home) and would like to think my stance on the life v. death issues was strong and clear, at the beginning of 2022 I had begun to realize that even that solid foundation meant absolutely nothing if I didn't build on it with real action. Yet I didn't know where to start. 

    I began mulling the problem over in my mind and, more importantly, I began asking God what He wanted me to do for the Pro-Life movement. I knew the "basic" projects I could participate in (marching in front of Planned Parenthood, donating to mother in need, etc.) but even those laudable efforts felt incomplete as I grappled with the growing sense that I could do much more, that God had given me something specific to do in the fight for life that hadn't been revealed to me just yet. 

    And then it struck me, minutes after reading about the D.C. Five (later covered by Heartbeat Press in our June 2023 Edition), when the news first broke in April 2022. The story outraged me as it starkly displayed the horror of abortion, only to be ignored by hundreds of people who preferred to uphold convenient injustice instead of facing painful truth. I found that I couldn't stay silent on the issue and, as my heart broke for the five murdered children, it also felt a God-spoken call to use my writing ability to shed light on it and many other injustices. Here was my part in the fight for life: a powerful, prearranged ability that God had given me and now asked that I use to do His work. I barely knew what I was doing, but I began to type stories and, just as God intended, the rest became history that I just needed to run with. 

    It is not lost on me how gracious the Lord has been in my life: answering my request for a revelation, giving me the ability to put down His words, and granting me ample time to focus on the work. But I also want to note that, thought my story is a blessed one, it is no different than what any one of yours could be. The Lord has placed within everyone (every single on of you) the exact same, powerful, earth-shaking calling to Pro-Life work. You may not know what the specifics look like yet, but I urge you to seek them out because they are there and eagerly await you diligence. Begin asking God what He would have you do because, as I wrote at the beginning of this edition, sideline support is easy but, when it comes to such an important issue, it is simply not enough, no matter how concerned someone is. Action has to be taken for, though sentiments are stirring, steps are what change the world and those steps are what the Lord has called us to. 

    Even as you begin, it is all right to be afraid. Standing up against a juggernaut like abortion is not easy and, in our day and age, the work is often thankless and heartbreaking. But the Lord never gives anyone a calling they cannot carry. His confidence that you are the right person to take up your part of the fight for life speaks to His care and, more so, His promise that He has and will continue to orchestrate every moment of your life and will be with you in your battles until their completion - a completion He has already put in place and is proud of you for. The Lord does not make errors. Not in your life or in the lives of anyone else. If, as Pro-Lifers believe, no child is a mistake, then the Lord's confidence in you isn't either. He only asks that we trust Him enough to enter into the work He has perfected us for. 

    Know also that you are not alone in your search for a call or your Pro-Life convictions. Thousands of Pro-Lifers have gone before you (conviction, bravery, fears and all) and thousands of others will come after you. Our fight is a fight of millions, made up of God's strengthened people, each with the same pin prick of a calling on their hearts that has (or will) lead them to do powerful things in the name of the God who gave them life and now asks that we offer that same chance to a million others. We've been given a mission. One not lightly shirked and wholly worth the effort.

    The fate of tomorrow is built on our work today. The work does not need to be big and bold, loud and bossy. Instead, the work is whatever God has perfectly readied each of us for alongside Pro-Lifers from yesterday, today, and tomorrow. But we must take up our individual callings with dedication now. There will be no better time than today, so join me in taking that step (your first and my next) towards saving tomorrow...one God-orchestrated moment at a time. 

Sources: Heartbeat Press: June 2023 Edition 

Photo Credit: Alliance Bernstein.com 

Heartbeat Press - May 2024 Edition

Blood Unto Blood - Warped Justice Disguised as Compassion 

In January, 1831, author Victor Hugo published his second book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Becoming an integral part of the revitalization of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and an instant classic, the book pulled at the heartstrings of the reading public as it depicted the plight of "undesirables" and the tragedy of false accusations spurred on by a corrupt legal system. Only 275 copies were printed during its first run publication, but such were the power of its words and story that that was all it took to immortalize the book in literary history and spawn a dozen reverent imitators. In June, 1996, Disney created its own version of the classic tale. 

    While the animated movie took some liberties with its source material (making the story slight more kid-friendly and adding a happy ending), no one who saw it could deny that it was a beautiful masterpiece of art and music, the latter of which personally touched me, especially when I rewatched the movie and noticed a particular verse that is still relevant today and opens the door for a bigger discussion in the Life v. Death debate. 

    In the opening of the film, we are briefly introduced to a rag-tag band of Romani refugees and the man who hates the group's entire race, Judge Claude Frollo. After arresting the group, Frollo decides that one of the women is smuggling stolen goods and, when she refuses to relinquish her parcel, chases her to the steps of Notre Dame, where he snatches the bundle and fatally kicks the woman to the ground. Only then does he discover that the bundle is, in fact, a deformed and now orphaned baby. Horrified by the baby's appearance, and in an effort to hide his crime, Frollo attempts to drown the child. Fortunately, he is stopped just in time by Notre Dame's Archdeacon, after which the two men have a powerful exchange that sees the priest ask Frollo if spilling a child's blood is guiltless in the wake of its mother's murder. 

    What the Archdeacon sings ("Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt on the steps of Notre Dame?") is poignant - powerfully so when applied to the Pro-Abortion cabal's attitude towards babies born from rape. This, among other things, is a fantastically sore point even for Pro-Lifers because, when looking at the situation from the outside, one can only see the crime that has been committed and the "product of rape" that will "inevitably hinder any healing for the victim." It's extremely easy to whisper that the woman would be better off without the reminder of her assault. That an abortion should be done so healing can happen and time can cause forgetfulness. Pro-Aborts vehemently defend these whispers and many Pro-Life laws allow exceptions in their abortion bans for these cases over fear of "abandoning women in need." 

    However, consider the story of Pro-Life advocate and rape survivor Ayala Harrison. At fifteen, Ayala experienced a rape that left her shattered and pregnant, but she didn't let it destroy her. Moreover, she didn't let it destroy her child because she recognized that her child was a glimmer of hope in her pain. The child, a daughter, was not at fault for what had happened and was the comfort, healing, and strength Ayala needed to become whole again and leave her assault behind forever. 

    Ayala has never seen her child as the child of a rapist. On the contrary, Ayala routinely reminds those she speaks to that her daughter is her child and hers alone, and that rape does not define either of them. The same is true for every mother who faces the unthinkable and yet adores her child for the unforeseen blessing he is anyway. These mothers know that the circumstances of conception can't change their children's personhood or God's ultimate plan for good - a plan that has given their children beautiful testimonies of strength to exude their entire lives. 

    If mothers can see the value in their children, why can't we? As the Pro-Life movement, we stand on a foundation of "human dignity at every stage and in every situation." If we truly believe this, we can't turn to children conceived in rape and tell them their lives are the exception - that their story is unworthy of our care because of its difficult beginning. That we will turn them over to murderers because of a circumstance they couldn't control. Our love isn't conditional; if it is, then we are no better than the Pro-Aborts who offer acceptance only when it fits their narrative. Our God has called us to a better fight than that. He has called us to unrequited love, for in it lies our strength. 

    A crime committed against a mother dose not justify a crime against her child, and to say that women will never find healing without abortion does a massive disservice to a woman's strength and her child's worth. These cases are no different than every other case we defend. Do not shy away from them. Rather, live up to the Pro-Life reputation of love, and stand in the gap between the shunned and their fate (circumstances and all). 

Sources: Simonandschuster.com, Google.com, Addall.com, AbeBooks.com, YouTube.com

Photo Credit: Character Design Reference.com 

Heartbeat Press - April 2024 Edition

Industries of the Unspoken - Hidden Truth...Thinly Veiled 

Deep in the bowels of every local Planned Parenthood evil is afoot...and, as discussed in last month's issue, unwitting and desperate women are sacrificing themselves and their children to this evil every day in the name of "empowerment." While many, including those who don't truly understand abortion but support it because they are unable to separate themselves from the masses, argue that women go to Planned Parenthood because they have a "right to reproductive care" and it's "no one's choice but their own what they do with their bodies," those same abortion supporters deftly ignore the fact that, for hundreds of women walking into Planned Parenthood every year, that precious choice is, in fact, no choice at all. 

    Almost as ignored as the evils of abortion, the trafficking trade is a malignant and festering underground in the US economy that treats human beings no better than cattle and traps an astonishing number of women and girls in its grip every year. For these women, their slavery is often sexual, with their only value attached to how sexually useful they can be. So, when "unplanned" pregnancies occur, the very first priority of a woman's trafficker is to get rid of the obstacle preventing continued business. No consideration is given to the woman (who may want to keep her child); instead the decision is the pimp's and the pimp's alone. 

    While one would hope that seeking an abortion in these cases would instantly raise enough red flags to apprehend a trafficker and save the woman, the opposite is often the case. In fact, obtaining an abortion and getting girls "back in business" is horrifically easy to do. As Lila Rose (undercover investigator and founder of Live Action News) saw firsthand, the abortion industry and its workers are more than happy to bend over backwards for those clients, who become their most "frequent flyers." 

    Undercover videos from Live Action's Mona Lisa Project (named in honor of the famous painting's mystery, the hidden truths Live Action hoped to uncover, and the necessity of hiding identities while working) and other investigations in 2011, clearly show Planned Parenthood workers taking trafficking information in stride. Not one worker bats and eye when Live Action's investigator (posing as a pimp) asked how he can go about getting abortions and STD testing for his girls (some as young as thirteen) and no questions of consent or concerns of forced abortions are raised. Every worker's calm demeanor betrays the fact that the situation is not an unusual or alarming one that they would feel compelled to report. Other videos from the same investigations see Planned Parenthood workers suggesting paperwork loop holes to avoid the company's mandatory reporting rules and, in one case, giving tips on how trafficked girls can get back to work mere days after having an abortion, with one worker in West Virginia cheerfully suggesting, "Waist up...or, just be that extra action walking by."

    Former Planned Parenthood workers can corroborate everything seen in Live Action's videos and have included their own testimonies as more nails in the abortion industry's coffin. Many can recount experiences where they knew women walking through their doors (brought in by pimps and abusers) were being forced into their abortions, but the power of Planned Parenthood's money-making/customer-pleasing agenda prevented them from stepping in to protect the women. Even in cases where nurses did report cases of trafficking and abuse, they were immediately scolded by industry management and told they were to ignore the obvious abuse. As former Planned Parenthood manager Sue Thayer recounted, "They (Planned Parenthood) didn't want the trouble."

    For all the abortion industry's promises to put women first and only provide those services clients want, their actions, as always, speak louder than words. In the name of money and a fabricated empowerment, Planned Parenthood hides its prerogative behind a thin veil, and routinely goes to bat for every power under the sun except women. It would prefer to support pocket-lining abusers rather than the women it claims to support and, when called to account for its choices, it has no stomach to admit what it has done. If it did, it would lose every foothold it still has in society and be seen as the exploiter it is. 

    The abortion industry and the trafficking industry have walked hand in hand for as long as both have existed and, given what we now know, one could argue that there is no difference between the two. Rather, they are the same business, carefully hidden and yet ripe to be exposed. 

Sources: Fighting for Life by Lila Rose, Live Action - Sex Trafficking Investigations (Former Workers Expose the Truth) (Workers Aiding Sex Trafficking)

Resources: Fallen by Annie Lobert, Awaken Justice.org, My Baby Saved Me from Sex Trafficking - Ashley's Story 

Photo Credit: Business Insider 

Heartbeat Press - March 2024 Edition

POV: Abortion - An Ingnored Reality 

On a sunny afternoon in 2008, a young woman got out of a parked car just down the street from a neighborhood Planned Parenthood and walked up the fenced-in driveway to the building's imposing double doors. While they didn't slam as they closed (courtesy of expensive, high-tech automation), the vacuum of silence and air that followed the door's ominous click was all but deafening. It seemed so final, like there was now a barrier between the woman and the world outside. Like there was no going back after that boundary was closed, and yet, at the same time, there seemed to be no way forward either. 

    Forcing herself to take her next step, the young woman looked ahead to the sparkling white reception room that waited for her. Sparsely peppered with other women waiting for their own (dreaded) appointments, the room was surprisingly bright despite the one-way glass on the windows, a fact that woman pondered as she shuffled up to the reception desk and checked in with the nurse behind it. "Why would any business need tinted windows? Are they afraid of something being seen?" These and other similar questions formed in the young woman's mind as she joined the ranks of waiting patients and watched as each one was called through another set of non-slamming double doors that led deeper into the bowels of the building. When her name was finally called, the woman did the same.

    Completely devoid of any windows, tinted or otherwise, the space behind the doors felt jarringly different from the pristine waiting room. Gloomy and narrow, a hallway, colored almost grey by its filmy overhead lights, stretched back as far as the woman could see. Dingy vinyl tiles full of scuff marks did little to reflect the poor lighting. Faceless doors lined the space and served as the only breaks in the walls that, in and of themselves, seemed to lean claustrophobically close on either side. The hallway smelled clean, like bleach and latex gloves, but after a moment even that sterile scent became heavy. Following a nurse through the confined space, the young woman felt an uneasiness growing in the pit of her stomach that churned up and soured what was left of a breakfast she now regretted.

    After what felt like endless moments, the nurse turned and held one of the drab doors open. Pausing for a moment to take a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm her nerves, the young woman stepped over the threshold and into the company of a new nurse who sat beaming from behind an imposing center desk. This new nurse's smile did nothing to ease the mounting tension in the small space; in fact, it was unsettling as it glowed a little too wide and a little too bright, like it was practiced and mindlessly plastered on hundreds of times a day. 

    Sitting down across from the nurse, the young woman took another deep breath and tried to remind herself why she was here. Despite any fears or uneasiness churning in her stomach, she had to do this. She couldn't leave this building without getting rid of her "problem," and these nurses, no matter how cold, brisk, or entirely too cheerful, were going to help her. At least she hoped they would. Holding her wide smile, the nurse broke the thick silence with a cacophony of questions, each one asked a little too quickly and buttered with practiced sympathy: "How old are you?" "Reason for today's visit?" "How far along are you?" The young woman tried to answer each question as it was asked, but as she did, all she could feel were her emotions rising again, bubbling up and overwhelming her until all she could focus on was the thundering of her own heartbeat and the repeated reminder: "You've come too far to turn back now."  

    Hours later, when the sun had just dipped below the horizon and street lights were beginning to blink on, the young woman finally pushed her way out of Planned Parenthood's double doors to reenter the outside world she had left behind an eternity ago. Her insides felt hollow, in more than one way, and as she walked back to her car, only one thought bounced around her hazy mind: "I will never go through that again." She thought she had wanted an abortion. She had felt there was no other option available to her. But now, having actually gone through with the procedure, she felt and sharp spur of regret growing in her heart. "Had this really been the only option?" "Had the baby felt any pain?" "Would this empty feeling ever go away?" Nothing was clear. Instead, everything was a dull ache. As the young woman started her car and shifted it into gear, she couldn't help but sob as the growing darkness sank lower around her. 

    This is a common experience for thousands of woman walking into Planned Parenthood every single day. While the industry would love to deny it, there is no ignoring the reality right before our eyes. And yet, so many do because it is much easier to ignore a painful truth than take the difficult steps to expose and change it. But consider this: abortion is not female empowerment. It is a violent and isolating exploitation that no one, let alone a frightened young woman, should be subjected to. A true champion of women would fight to protect the vulnerable from it, no matter how difficult the battle. 

Photo Credit: IStockPhoto.com

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For more stories that expose the abortion industry check out The Walls Are Talking by Abby Johnson