In This Issue...
From Our Director...
BCWe hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving!

In just a few days, the Louisiana Senate election will come to a close.
PLEASE make sure you vote this Saturday, December 6, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Today is "Giving Tuesday." If you have not already, we recommend that you make a donation to your favorite Louisiana pro-life organization.  Whether it is a pregnancy center, adoption agency, Right to Life chapter, or other group, please know that all our efforts depend on your generosity. We are so thankful for the many Louisianians who make the saving of lives possible.

Make sure you catch the great article below from our good friend Kelly Boggs, editor of The Baptist Message. We are blessed to have his friendship and to partner with the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

For a Pro-Life Louisiana,   
Benjamin Clapper

Radio Spot ImageP.S. This is the last week for our "Don't Forget the Unborn Baby" radio spot running on Christian and Country stations statewide.  Click here to listen and then share with friends!
Louisiana Life March
Life March Logo
Life March South Moves to LSU's Campus!

 

Sat. Jan 17: North in Shreveport
Sat. Jan. 24: South in BR @ LSU

 

Will you help defend the defenseless? Will you stand and march with us for an abortion-free Louisiana?

 

We hope you will join us for our two annual Louisiana Life March events to be held on consecutive Saturdays in January. The Louisiana Life March North is from 10 a.m. until noon on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, and the Louisiana Life March South is from 10 a.m. until noon on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015.

 

The North march begins at 10 a.m. on Jan. 17 at Bossier City's Louisiana Boardwalk, travels across the Texas Street bridge and ends at Shreveport's Festival Plaza, where speakers and musicians will lead in prayer and presentation.

 

Louisiana Life March South is changing locations for just this year and partnering with "The Response Louisiana", a large prayer gathering to be held at LSU on Jan. 24, the same day at the LLM South.  

 

The Life March South is usually held at the state Capitol, but due to construction at the Capitol, the Life March South will move to LSU to partner with "The Response Louisiana."  

 

Activities connected with Life March South will be held at the LSU Greek Amphitheater located on Dalrymple Drive. The rally will begin at 10 a.m., and at 11 a.m. the March for Life will begin, concluding at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

 

At that point participants will march into the Maravich Center, and Life March South will merge with "The Response Louisiana" to begin a time of prayer for life.

 

The Response Louisiana is being hosted by Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has called Louisiana and the nation to a day of prayer for America. The event is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and people of all ages, denominations and ethnic and racial backgrounds will gather to fast and pray for a historic breakthrough for our country and a renewed sense of moral purpose.

 

 Visit www.LALifeMarch.com for more information 

Obamacareabortion.com
Website Exposes Lack of Abortion Transparency in Obamacare Plans

The administration's persistent lack of transparency on Obamacare health plans has led national pro-life leaders to develop a website where consumers can find out which of their potential plans covers abortion and related services.

Open enrollment through the marketplace continues through Feb. 15, 2015.

ObamacareAbortion.com was launched Nov. 20 at a national news conference on the House Triangle. The lead researchers of the data presented in the site, experts at Family Research Council and Charlotte Lozier Institute, spoke and revealed their findings. They were joined by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), lead sponsor of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act. The new site educates and informs site visitors on whether or not their own plans force them to pay for elective abortions.

 

In Louisiana, lawmakers have enacted a life-affirming law to ensure that elective abortion is not included in any of the plans sold on the state's exchange. But Louisiana taxpayers are still paying federal taxes that are used to pay for coverage that includes elective abortion in other states. For example, an estimated 1.25 million Californians received federal taxpayer subsidies in 2014 and 96% of plans sold in California included abortion on demand. Between 2015 and 2024 an estimated $855 billion in federal subsidies will be used in every state to pay for Obamacare health plans, many of which include elective abortion.

 

FRC's Arina Grossu, director of the Center for Human Dignity, said by launching the website 

ObamacareAbortion.com "we are attempting to do what the Obama Administration has not been willing or able to do for the 2015 new enrollment. That is, to inform Americans about abortion coverage in Obamacare plans and expose the great difficulty in obtaining this information... 

 

"Because Obamacare violates the principles of the Hyde Amendment ban on subsidizing abortion, and because Obamacare lacks transparency for Americans, Congress must enact the Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R.3279) and the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R.7).  The new Senate offers hope that these bills could become law."

 

News Around the Nation...
Pro-Life Related Stories  Trending Around Nation
(Click on blue to read more) 
     
* New Jersey State Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), the powerful chairman of the Senate Health Committee who had been the prime sponsor of a doctor-prescribed suicide bill, announced that he has withdrawn his support for the measure.

 

Vitale told online news source NewJersey.com: "I initially supported the idea of the bill and signed on. After a time, I had more questions and concerns than answers. So I thought it was honest to remove my name and continue to think about it."

 

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) agreed to sponsor the measure in the upper house after Vitale withdrew. The bill recently passed out of the New Jersey Assembly with the minimum 41 votes needed. However, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) has gone on record saying he opposes any so-called "death with dignity" assisted suicide bill.

 

*  The full 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 20 refused to reconsider a ruling by a three-judge panel which blocked Mississippi from enforcing a law that requires abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The court offered no explanation.

 

The effect is that the Jackson Women's Health Organization, the state's lone abortion clinic, will remain open as the legal challenge continues. The next step is that the case now heads back to the federal district court.

 

* A federal appeals court has scheduled oral arguments about the constitutionality of Texas' tough new abortion law for the first week of January, setting up a rapid timeline that may accelerate the case's expected trip to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell and lawyers representing abortion providers are planning to appear in front of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans during the week of Jan. 5, the state disclosed in a legal brief filed in November.

Sen. Landrieu: Actions
Speak Louder Than Words 

Landrieu Misleads Voters on Abortion Record
 
By Benjamin Clapper 

 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH DEBATE  

I have always believed that actions speak louder than words. Last night,
that maxim came to mind once again.

During last night's televised debate between Sen. Mary Landrieu and Congressman Bill Cassidy, Sen. Landrieu again misled the citizens of Louisiana about her record on abortion. She wanted you to listen to her words rather than pay attention to her actions.

 

After a question from a television reporter about the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, Landrieu denounced abortion, saying firmly, "I do not support abortion, period. I think it's tragic." She even went so far as to say, "I think abortion in almost any case is immoral."   

 

In the same breath, however, she defended her "pro-choice" position by stating that the government "should not make those decisions." She would rather leave the decision to "the mother, the father, and the priest" in a "hospital room."


If Sen. Landrieu believes abortion is immoral and tragic, then we have to assume it is because she believes that abortion is the unjust destruction of an innocent human life. There would be no other reason. If she believes this, how can she in good conscience turn around and say she does not want the government to be involved and protect these innocent lives?

Sen. Landrieu's "position" is incredibly inconsistent. If you are truly opposed to abortion, then you should want to take the necessary steps to stop the tragedy. Instead of taking these steps, Sen. Landrieu's voting record has made the unborn child more vulnerable to abortion. As Congressman Cassidy rightly pointed out in the debate, Landrieu has a 0% record since re-election with National Right to Life. Out of 15 votes (see her voting record at this link) that were important to the protection of these little human lives, Sen. Landrieu voted against the pro-life position every time. That does not sound like someone who believes abortion is a tragedy.

In fact, if we listen to her votes rather than her words, it makes us believe she firmly supports the abortion industry. She voted to allow government funding of abortion in Obamacare. She voted to allow Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion business, to receive our tax dollars.

And last night, while admitting that the unborn child after 20 weeks is fragile, she still held to her position opposing the legislation protecting the unborn child at 20 weeks from the pain of abortion. The fragile state of these babies is exactly why we must pass this legislation. It is outrageous that a person who believes abortion is immoral would stand in the way of a common-sense law that would stop the horrendous practice of late abortion.

 

Throughout her answer last night, Sen. Landrieu referred multiple times to a "hospital" setting, wanting us to believe that the abortion decision is commonly made in consultation with a religious figure in a hospital setting. This shows us that Sen. Landrieu either understands very little about abortion or simply wants to paint a different picture for Louisiana voters.

 

The fact is the overwhelming majority of abortions are performed in facilities that only do abortions. They sell abortion to women. The "doctor" is there for the sole purpose of performing as many abortions as he or she can. And there is certainly no priest or religious figure in these abortion facilities.

 

Sen. Landrieu, of course, reminded us last night of her support for adoption, since she serves as the co-chair of the Adoption Caucus in Congress. But doesn't Sen. Landrieu see that abortion facilities are systematically eliminating babies that could be adopted if they were just allowed to be born? Her "pro-choice" voting record is hindering parents seeking to adopt from receiving the blessing of baby.

Sen. Landrieu knows Louisiana is pro-life. Because of this, she must run from her own voting record that has helped the abortion industry destroy more innocent lives. She must make us believe one thing during election time and then turn around and do the opposite in Washington DC. But as the November 4 election results showed, the game doesn't appear to be working any longer.

Sen. Landrieu needs to be reminded that actions speak louder than words. As our Senator, her actions through her votes have shown us that she believes the abortion industry should come before the innocent unborn baby.

If Sen. Landrieu truly opposes the tragedy of abortion, we call on her to renounce her past votes and to apologize to the citizens of Louisiana for all the votes she has cast that have furthered this unspeakable

tragedy. Through that action, we can move forward and act to both promote adoption and bring an end to the tragedy of abortion.

 

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHERE THE CANDIDATES STAND ON LIFE AND TO VIEW THEIR VOTING RECORDS

A Distressed America Needs
Our Prayers and Good Witness

Values Important When Choosing Leaders

By Kelly Boggs, The Baptist Message

 

America is in trouble. There is much evidence that suggests we are a nation that is divided politically, racially and demographically. Many observers also believe America is a nation that is in decline with regard to its cultural, economy and long cherished freedoms.

 

America, it seems, is a nation in distress. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of distress finds its roots in a Latin word that means to "stretch apart."

 

America is being pulled apart by the disparate world views that now proliferate from sea to shining sea. When you consider it was Jesus who said, "...Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand," we should be concerned by the condition of our nation.

   

So, what can we do? What should our response be toward an America in distress?

 

Christians must pray as we've never prayed before. The author of Hebrews wrote, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

 

Is there any doubt that the United States is in the midst of a time of need? We must pray.

 

I believe the time has come to put prayer back on the front-burner of our churches. Most, if not all, of our programs need to take a back seat to prayer. Jesus said, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer'..."

 

When we spend the vast majority of our time singing, sermonizing and instructing, can we really say our church is a house of prayer?

 

Don't get me wrong. Worship is important, and there is no substitute for the preaching of God's Word. However, prayer is the breath of the Christian life. If a body is not breathing properly it cannot be healthy.

 

Our churches must make the time to pray.

 

I am encouraged by the number of prayer meetings that have been called by prominent pastors, but sadly the attendance has been lacking. I even had one individual tell me that he would not attend a particular prayer gathering because a certain person would likely be present.

 

Brothers and sisters, it is past the time for us to humble ourselves, reconcile with one another and get on our faces before a Holy God and cry out to Him for mercy, grace and revival.

 

Beyond prayer we can participate in the process of choosing our leaders.

 

Our form of government is a Republic predicated on a participatory democracy. That is we choose our leaders via an election process. As such, I believe a Christian has the responsibility to be salt and light via the voting booth.

However, as followers of Christ we should not just vote for the sake of voting. We should cast informed ballots.

 

The Baptist Message is a 501(c)(3) organization and has strict guidelines when it comes to campaigns. As such, The Message is forbidden from advocating for or against a candidate in an election.

 

The Baptist Message is allowed to provide information about candidates, such as answers to questions posed in a voters' guide and a candidate's past voting record, to allow our readers to cast informed ballots.

 

We ran a voters' guide in the Oct. 23 issue of The Message for the primary election, and we published a voters' guide to the runoff election in the latest edition. 

 

 CLICK HERE TO VIEW RUNOFF VOTER GUIDE 

 

On Saturday, Louisiana will be going to the polls to vote in several runoff elections. None will have more impact than the runoff for state senator between Sen. Mary Landrieu and Congressman Bill Cassidy. Who you vote for in the Senate runoff will have implications for the United States both now and into the future.

 

According to the Louisiana Right to Life Federation, there is a glaring difference when examining the pro-life voting records of Sen. Landrieu and Congressman Cassidy.

 

Since 2009, Sen. Landrieu's voting record in respect to pro-life issues is zero percent, according to LRLF. Landrieu's complete voting pro-life record since she has been in Congress is 27 percent.

 

Congressman Cassidy's voting record on pro-life issues since 2009, according to LRLF, is 100 percent. Cassidy's complete pro-life voting record since he has been in Congress is 100 percent.

 

As a follower of Christ you should go to the polls on Dec. 6 and you should cast an informed vote that is keeping with your values.

 

We must pray for our nation. We must also participate in choosing our leaders. However, there is something else we can do: We can call attention to America's distress.

 

Dick DeBusk, a retired pastor and former prayer coordinator for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, has found a creative way of bringing our nation's distress to people's attention. He has begun to wear his American flag lapel pin upside down.

 

The United States Flag code stipulates: "The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."

 

DeBusk believes America is on the brink of disaster and wants others to know this as well. He told me that people will often reach to turn the pin upright,and when they do it gives him an opportunity to share that Christ is the only hope, not only for America, but for the individual as well.

 

America is in distress. We must do all we can to try and avert disaster. So pray, vote and witness all to the glory of God. 

 

(This article, published recently in the statewide newspaper The Baptist Message, was reprinted with permission.) 

Upcoming Events

Dec. 6: Run-off for Senate Election

Jan. 17, 2015: Life March Shreveport 

Jan. 20, 2015: Geaux Forth Youth Rally, Washington DC  

Jan. 24, 2015: Life March Baton Rouge

March 13-15, 2015: Camp Joshua Baton Rouge
April 10-12, 2015: Camp Joshua Baton Rouge 
May 1-3, 2015: Camp Joshua Covington
May 15-17, 2015:
Camp Joshua Shreveport

July 9-11, 2015: National Right to Life Convention, NOLA 


'The Luminary' Now Being Distributed
Our Winter 2014 "The Luminary" should be arriving in mailboxes across Louisiana this week. You can receive your own by becoming a Luminary member online or by calling us at 1.866.463.5433.
 
Louisiana Right to Life | Lighting the Way to a Pro-Life Louisiana Since 1970
www.ProLifeLouisiana.org | 1.866.463.5433 | info@prolifelouisiana.org

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