RTLACO President Margie Christie Speaks at first Ohio March for Life.
Wednesday, thousands have gathered for the first-ever official Ohio March for Life. The March for Life celebrates life in Ohio, and works towards creating a culture of life in the state through legislation like the recently implemented Heartbeat Act.
The March for Life, Center for Christian Virtue, The Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio, and Ohio RTL were thrilled to welcome our pro-life friends from across the state to celebrate this historic occasion together and to advocate for laws that respect the human dignity of every person, born and preborn.
Please visit the video link below and find Margie’s remarks between minutes 23.05 to 27.44. Enjoy!
Thousands Join Ohio March for Life to Celebrate Supreme Court Overturningn Roe v. Wade!
Thousands of pro-life Ohio residents gathered to support unborn babies’ right to life Wednesday at their state capital for the first ever Ohio March for Life.
Photos and videos from the event show thousands of pro- lifers on the lawn outside the Ohio Statehouse, holding signs that read “Life wins,” “Remember the unborn” “Equal rights begin in the womb” and “Pray to end abortion” before they marched through the streets of Columbus to remind their state about the value of every human life.
The march took place after the 100th day since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to begin protecting unborn babies from abortion again. Ohio currently is fighting in court to enforce itsheartbeat law, which bans abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy.
“Ohio is a pro-life state. From the passage of the Heartbeat Bill to the pregnancy centers throughout our 88 counties, Ohio has made protecting unborn children and their mothers a priority,” Baer said ahead of the march. “This year’s March for Life will be a celebration of all we’ve accomplished and a recommitment to serving those in need.”
Speakers at the event included Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Ruth Cabrera-Henriquez, an Ohio mother who chose life for her unborn baby despite pressure to have an abortion; and Peter Range, executive director of Ohio Right to Life.
State pro-life leaders also felt encouraged by the large crowd and its enthusiasm.
“Make no mistake Ohio’s pro-life movement is strong and growing. Today’s March for Life sponsored by Ohio Right to Life is just the beginning of what’s to come as we defend and protect life in Ohio,” Michael Gonidakis, president of
Ohio Right to Life, wrote on Twitter.
What to Make of Mark Houck’s Arrest.
Before getting to Mr. Houck’s story, it’s important to understand just how powerful federal law enforcement can be. Unlike local prosecutors, U.S. Attorney Offices and agencies like the FBI have almost unlimited discretion over what cases they will investigate and prosecute. They can decide whom they will target, and then use their tremendous resources in manpower and finances to find a crime that person may have committed.
And federal prosecutors are appointed, so they never have to face an election and be held accountable by the people.
Once a person is charged, they’re in a very bad situation.
Potential maximum sentences can be very severe, and there are many offenses with long mandatory minimum sentences. And there is the “trial penalty”—where a defendant is threatened with a much more severe sentence if he dares to assert his constitutional right to go to trial. So there is tremendous pressure on defendants to take a plea to reduce their potential exposure, and even to falsely confess to crimes they didn’t commit or to which they have a legitimate defense.
With so much power and discretion, it is essential for the rule of law that prosecutors and agents act with neutrality and integrity. The last thing anyone should want is selective prosecution based on politics.
Which brings us to Mark Houck, who has unfortunately found himself in the feds’ crosshairs.
At about 7 a.m. on Friday, September 23, at least 20 federal agents from the FBI arrived at Mark Houck’s home.
The agents repeatedly and loudly knocked on the door, displayed their weapons—which included military-style rifles—and demanded to enter the house. Once the door was opened, they continued to display their weapons in the presence of Mr. Houck’s children and placed him under arrest.
If convicted, he faces a potential maximum sentence of 11 years in federal prison and as much as 3 years of supervised release (the federal equivalent of parole).
What’s Odd About this Case Mr. Houck was indicted in federal court over eleven months after the alleged offense, after the case was initially dismissed in local court.
Federal prosecutions, especially in a large city, typically focus on heavy crimes like gang violence, large-scale drug or gun trafficking, bank robbery, major financial frauds, and so on.
This case is clearly nowhere near that level, even if we take the government’s case as a given. And the local case wasn’t even worth pursuing.
Consider also the way Mr. Houck was arrested. You would think that such an overwhelming display of force would take place when there was a severe risk of violent resistance or hostage-taking.
But there is no evidence whatsoever that Mr. Houck posed a threat to anyone, much less 20 heavily armed FBI agents. In fact, his attorney had been in touch with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and offered to bring him in to surrender and face the charges.
So it’s hard to see why they chose to arrest a clearly non-violent man, while he was at home with young children in the house, as if he were some kind of dangerous desperado.
The obvious and inescapable explanation for Mr. Houck’s special treatment is that the Justice Department has made protection of “reproductive rights” a high priority, which really means that they have decided to target pro-lifers.
The way Mr. Houck has been treated smacks of politically motivated targeting by the Justice Department. And that’s a very frightening thing for him, especially when you consider how powerful federal law enforcement can be.
But if this is any indication of what may happen in the future, other pro-lifers have reason to be very concerned as well.
We always have the constitutional right to free speech and peaceful prayer outside of clinics. As long as we remain within the boundaries of the law, there is no reason to stop pro-life witness at abortion clinics.
The Left’s Abortion Position Is Openly Anti-Science.
Democrats suddenly believe abortion is their golden ticket to winning the midterm elections. Democratic candidates up and down the ticket, from Beto O’Rourke in Texas to Stacey Abrams in Georgia, are running on an agenda that supports abortion up until the moment of birth. As Democratic
messaging grows more bullish and aggressive, their abortion positions have become not just out of touch with voters but out of touch with scientific truth.
Former state lawmaker Stacey Abrams is the latest mind- boggling example. The Democrat running for Georgia governor made waves last week when she claimed, “There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks. It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman’s body.”
Using Doppler signals to detect a preborn baby’s beating heart — a practice ubiquitous throughout the medical community since the 1970s — is a stretch too far for abortion extremists like Abrams.
Never mind six weeks, Johns Hopkins Medicine posits that a fetal heartbeat begins at four weeks gestation. Even Planned Parenthood’s own website admitted “a very basic beating heart and circulatory system develop” by five to six weeks.
Abrams’ utter nonsensical argument was meant as an attack on Georgia’s law protecting preborn babies with detectable heartbeats, an undeniable sign of the child’s humanity and a major indicator of healthy fetal development.
Medical science and technology are constantly progressing, and we are at a point where the humanity of preborn children in the womb is undeniable. We now have the tools and knowledge to observe the progression and development of preborn babies like never before in human history.
How does the pro-abortion left plan to overcome all these pesky scientific facts and new medical research? Ignore the science. If that does not work, then just change the words to distract from their true meaning. A heartbeat is not a heartbeat, it’s just electrical pulses emitting from cardiac cells. And if all else fails, claim that medical technology is merely a tool of the patriarchy to control women’s bodies.
The abortion industry and its defenders are all too willing to close their eyes and cover their ears to the irrefutable data about the miracle of human life. If the left were to open its eyes to accept biological realities, it would have no choice but to acknowledge the humanity of the preborn child and reject the inhumanity of elective abortion.
Article by The Federalist HERE!
DIY ABORTION DANGERS: ECTOPIC PREGNANCIES AND MORE.
The originator of the two-step medication abortion, Etienne-Emile Baulieu, a biochemist and endocrinologist, stressed the dangers of ingesting the deadly combination of drugs without a prior medical examination. However, last year, the FDA began allowing distribution by online and retail pharmacies without this vital safety requirement in place.
As a result, the abortion industry has increased its promotion and distribution of dangerous do-it-yourself abortion pills. Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the push has become even more evident. In the industry’s usual efforts to manipulate women with a message of self-empowerment, the profiteers use the term “self-managed abortion.”
The Mayo Clinic states that medication abortions should not be taken after 7-9 weeks of pregnancy, while the The World Health Organization’s (WHO) deadline is 12 weeks. However, the FDA has approved the pill for up to 70 days gestation (10 weeks).
According to the Mayo Clinic, medication abortion should not be an option for someone with an ectopic pregnancy.
The WHO’s fine print defines one who is “clinically eligible” for the medication abortion process as follows:
- Is not more than 12 weeks pregnant
- Does not have medical contraindications (any medical condition or reason that the drugs may be harmful).
- Has received a screening confirming she does not have an ectopic pregnancy (emphasis added).
Ectopic pregnancy is, by no means, the only danger involved with chemical abortions. In May, Operation Rescue reported on disturbing complications experienced by 125 Ohio women who ingested the abortion pill cocktail.
“While claiming do-it-yourself abortions are harmless and a simple way of ‘ending a pregnancy,’ abortion clinics and other distributors collect large sums of money and leave the women alone to face the pain and high risks associated with these dangerous drugs,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “This, once again, reveals that the abortion cartel has an unquenchable thirst for the blood of innocent babies and cares nothing about women.”