Today was a historic day in Florida. Through lengthy and intense debates an amazing amount of pro-life bills passed the Florida House. The House passed all six pro-life bills ranging from having Floridians vote on the 2012 ballot to add an amendment to the FL Constitution banning publicly funded abortions — to requiring women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound, have it reviewed and explained to them.

Pro-life Democrats made their voices heard today in the debate of these bills and were strong voices for righteousness. Representative Julien (Dem. D 104) said in reference to the genocide of Africans in the days of slavery and in support of bill HB 97, ”abortion is a genocide of the unborn.” ”Nothing is more essential to what we do than the preservation of human life,” said another Representative in reference to the notion that job-creating bills are a better way to spend the session. 

Here’s a look at the bills passed today:

HB 501 Relating to Choose Life License Plates - This bill allows for Choose Life, Inc. to distribute funds donated by Floridians choosing the Choose Life license plate to organizations that help pregnant women and adoption agencies — rather than the funds being distributed by individual counties.

CS/HJR 1179  Amendment Banning Public Funding of Abortions on the 2012 Ballot - This bill proposes an amendment to the State Constitution that would prohibit public funding of abortions (excluding rape, incest and life of the mother); It would also prohibit the State Constitution from being interpreted to create broader rights to abortion than those contained in U.S. Constitution.

CS/HB 97 Health Insurance - Prohibits certain health insurance policies & health maintenance contracts from providing coverage for abortions; provides that certain restrictions on coverage for abortions apply to certain group health insurance policies issued or delivered outside state which provide coverage to residents of state.

HB 1127 Required Ultrasounds - This bill requires that an ultrasound be performed before a woman can obtain an abortion. It also requires that the ultrasound be reviewed with the patient before she consents for abortion procedure. If she chooses to not review the ultrasound she must do so in writing and that she did so of her own free will and without undue influence; it provides exemption from requirement to view ultrasound for women who are victims of rape, incest, domestic violence, or human trafficking or for women who have serious medical condition necessitating abortion.

HB 1247 Parental Notice of Abortion - This bill would tighten requirements for parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion;  It would require minors seeking an abortion to have parental consent before the abortion may be performed. 

HB 1397 Third Trimester Abortions: This would expand prohibition on third-trimester abortions to include a ban if the fetus is viable. It would also require physician who offers to or performs abortions to complete continuing ethics education.

These bills aren’t just good ideas, they’re the beginning of abortion ending in the state of Florida and are evidences that Floridians do care about the unborn, women and families. Today is no minor day.

This Wednesday is a potentally historic day for Florida. Representatives in the FL House will be voting on 6 pro-life bills, some being quite monumentuous — one of which could potentally add to the Florida Constitution a ban on public funds to be used for abortions. What God is orchestrating in the FL House is truly great, but we must also raise our voices in partnering prayer and intercession. We can’t do God’s part, and God won’t do our part. Your voice must be heard before God. Please be praying over these bills.

Here are few ways to pray:

1. That Reps are able to feel what God feels concering these bills 
2. For pro-life leaders to be a strong voice for righteousness, especially during debate (Pro. 31:8-9)
3. That truth would be upheld and that lies & deception would fall on deaf ears 
4. That eyes that are currently blinded would be opened (Eph. 1:16-19)

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It has been an intense week in Congress, with a complete government shutdown looming over the nation last Friday that hinged on whether or not to fund abortions with tax-payers money, as well as clashing ideologies clearly portrayed to the American people. “The lines have long been drawn on this controversial issue and are about to divide deeply once again,” says CNN.

Yesterday the House and Senate passed the federal budget — and while the House voted to de-fund Planned Parenthood (PP) from receiving tax payers money, the Senate inevitably voted to keep them funded. This is the House of Representatives second time voting to end tax payer funded abortions through PP — an historic gesture that the American people are once again declaring their pro-life views. Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life said: “Recent polls reveal that an overwhelming majority of Americans—whether pro-life or pro-abortion—oppose the use of federal monies to support abortion.” 

While de-funding PP and overhauling obamacare did not pass in this year’s federal budget, some really great things did pass. Here’s a quick look:

In the Nation

House votes to de-fund Planned Parenthood. House members voted 241-185 for a resolution that would prohibit the Planned Parenthood abortion business from qualifying for family planning funds. The vote saw almost all Republicans supporting de-funding while Democrats generally opposed it. 

Ban on abortion funding in D.C. reinstated. On a 260-167 vote, lawmakers approved a funding bill that reinstates the abortion funding ban in the District of Columbia that President Barack Obama and Democrats overturned in their budget bills last year. In addition to the ban on DC abortion funding,  the continuing resolution also cuts funding to the pro-abortion UNFPA (United Nations Family Planning Agency) that has worked hand-in-hand with Chinese population control officials who have enforced the one-child rule with forced abortions and other human rights abuses. Republicans trimmed funding for the agency from the $55 million President Barack Obama put in place to $40 million.

GOP Continuing Resolution lowers Title-X funds. The GOP long-term CR also cuts the Title X domestic family planning funding, the pool of money from which Planned Parenthood is funded. The cuts take the program from the $317 million it received in 2010 to $300 million, the level of money it received in 2008 and decreasing the pool of funds from which Planned Parenthood can draw.

In Florida

Committee passes bill to add Constitutional amendment that bans tax-payer funded abortions. On Wednesday I sat-in on a HHS committee hearing of Rep. Dennis Baxley (R. Distric 24) introducing his bill that would allow Floridians to vote on an amendment to the Florida constitution that would ban tax-payer funded abortions in Florida (essentially the Hyde Amendment). The bill passed with 12 yeas, with 6 nays. 

Florida Senate Committee Passes Ultrasound Before Abortion. The bill requires abortion centers to do something they don’t normally do:  show women considering an abortion the results of the ultrasound they typically take beforehand to determine the age of the baby at the time of the abortion. Senate Bill 1744 received the support of a committee in the state Senate today and now has just one more committee to go before heading to the state Senate floor for a debate and vote. This bill is similar to HB 1143 that former Gov. Crist vetoed last year.

Recommended Reading:

House De-Funds Planned Parenthood, Senate Allows Funding »

Abortion battle rages in state legislatures » 

Florida Senate Committee Passes Ultrasound Before Abortion »

Planned Parenthood’s Founding & Ethos

I’ll cut to the chase: The founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was a racist eugenicist. Here’s a couple of quotes from her: “The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.” [1] Elimination of certain people she considered “human weeds” was central to her Eugenics philosophy: “In this matter, the example of the inferior classes, the fertility of the feeble-minded, the mentally defective, the poverty-stricken classes, should not be held up for emulation…” [2]

Don’t think Sanger’s vision lives on? Think again. Two out of every three of their abortion facilities are located in Black American neighborhoods. [3] Factor in that they are now targeting growing Hispanic families, and that number shoots up to 76%. Planned Parenthood’s Mission Statement from their Official IRS Tax Return states,

The purpose of the federation is: in making effective means of voluntary fertility regulation, including contraception, abortion, sterilization, and infertility services, available and fully accessible to all as a central element to reproductive healthcare in achieving, through informed individual choice, a U.S. population of stable size in an optimum environment

Planned Parenthood’s modus operandi for achieving a ‘stable sized’ population? Contraceptives and abortions. Some may try and say “Abortions only account for 3% of P.P.’s operations.” Here’s what that 3% really means:

• Planned Parenthood performed 332,278 abortions in the year ending June, 2009, or 27% of all abortions in the U.S. – 1 out of every 10 clients receives an abortion.
• That’s 1 abortion every 95 seconds.
• 98 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services to pregnant women were abortions. Planned Parenthood gave just 977 adoption referrals.
• Abortions yield 37% of all Planned Parenthood revenues, by the most conservative estimates. [4]

So pro-aborts say 3% of abortions as if to ‘lessen’ the true number: 332,278.

Planned Parenthood’s business model is centered on abortion. Former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson has written that she was given an “abortion quota” and was even told by her superiors to double the number of abortions in order to bring in more revenue. [5] Abortion patients constitute 12 percent of Planned Parenthood clients — 332,000 of 3 million unduplicated clients in its most current report. 37 percent of all Planned Parenthood clinic income revenue is from abortion procedures, according to conservative estimates. Planned Parenthood has issued a directive instructing that all affiliates must have at least one clinic that performs abortion by 2013. [6]

Planned Parenthood aides and abets criminal activity

I’m sure you’ve heard of LiveAction.org’s exposé videos of Planned Parenthood workers giving advice to a fake pimp on child sex-trafficking, underaged abortions, sex crimes against women, as well as lying about services they offer. These workers exude Planned Parenthood’s morals and true ethos.

Planned Parenthood is not safe for women and young girls. These undercover videos show Planned Parenthood employees in several states willing to aid and abet in acknowledged human sex trafficking of girls as young as 14. [7] The undercover footage resulted in the firing of Amy Woodruff, manager of the Central New Jersey Planned Parenthood clinic. [8] It also caused Planned Parenthood to call for mandatory training sessions of thousands of its employees across the country on reporting requirements. [9]

Planned Parenthood does not provide mammograms and is not a significant primary care provider to women. Despite claims made by Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards and members of the media, Planned Parenthood does not provide mammograms. They are also not a significant primary care provider in general. In recent reports, Planned Parenthood acknowledges that it provided primary care only to about 19,700 of its 3 million unduplicated clients. These services have been trending downward for years, from 21,247 in 2007 to 20,235 in 2008, to today’s 19,796. [10]

If you don’t want your tax dollars going to fund Planned Parenthood, contact congress now.

Recommended Reading:

Top 12 Reasons to Defund Planned Parenthood Now

Government Willing to Fund Abortion but Not US Soldiers

Note to Congress: Planned Parenthood is Not a ‘Women’s Health’ Organization

[1] Margaret Sanger in her 1920 book Women and the New Race

[2] ”The Eugenic Value of Birth Control Propaganda.” Birth Control Review, October 1921, page 5.

[3] http://bound4life.com/houston

[4] Susan B. Anthony List “Should Planned Parenthood really force taxpayers to fund the convictions of Margaret Sanger?”

[5] Abby Johnson Op-Ed in The Hill, “Exposing the Planned Parenthood business model,” April 4, 2011

[6] Chiaroscuro Foundation Report, “Does Planned Parenthood Need or Deserve Federal Funds?,” March, 2011

[7] Live Action Press Release, “Caught on Tape: Planned Parenthood Aids Pimp’s Underage Sex Ring,” February 1, 2011

[8] New Jersey Star Ledger, “Central Jersey Planned Parenthood fires worker after release of undercover video,” February 2, 2011.

[9] New York Times, “Planned Parenthood to Retrain Public Staff,” February 7, 2011

[10] Chiaroscuro Foundation Report, “Does Planned Parenthood Need or Deserve Federal Funds?,” March, 2011

I thought it might be interesting to show you some of the latest work I have been doing. Also, I am shamelessly plugging the company I work for: Ink Blot Media Group. This is a very short list of what I feel are the most meaningful works I have been doing in the past 2-3 months.

Nefarious Documentary

Nefarious I: Merchant of Souls: “Modern slavery.” It sounds like a paradox. Hasn’t humanity progressed? Didn’t we leave slavery dead on the battlefields of the American Civil War? Didn’t social reformers like Lincoln and Wilberforce legislate against such cruelty over a hundred years ago? So we had thought. But, with over 27 million enslaved people in the world, human trafficking is once again the battlefront of the century.

No, Not This One

No, Not This One is simply a connection between local crisis pregnancy centers and people who pray. SOS text alerts can then be sent directly to your phone in critical moments that require urgent prayer. Simple as that.

Abba’s House

Abba’s House is a center of mercy and refuge, a safe place for young adults and families to be healed and restored.

Benjamin Nolot

Benjamin Nolot is the Founder and President of Exodus Cry and Producer/Writer/Director of the Nefarious documentary trilogy. Exodus Cry is an international anti-trafficking organization committed to abolishing modern-day slavery and assisting the victims of human trafficking through rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration into society. Nefarious is a series of 3 documentaries that expose the undercurrent of injustice beneath the global sex trade.