Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 www.prolifescranton.org

Summer 2014 Edition Now Marking Our 40th Year!

by Maureen ManzanoJust days before the Hobby

Lobby Case, the Supreme Court upheld freedom of speech in another decision. In McCullen v. Coakley, the Court unanimously dec l a r ed uncons t i t u t i ona l a Massachusetts law barring pro-life advocates from public sidewalks near abortion facilities. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had joined with other religious groups as a “friend of the court” brief urging the First Amendment be upheld. Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, lauded the decision.

“Clearly this was an attack on pro-life Americans’ freedom of speech, and we welcome the Court’s decision to overturn the law,” he said on the USCCB’s Web site. “Abortion supporters, having long denied that unborn children have a right to life, would deny that their fellow Americans who seek to protect the unborn have the same rights as other Americans – the right to

freedom of speech and freedom of association; the right to participate in the public square and serve the vulnerable in accord with our moral convictions. Increasingly we see this trend evidenced at various levels of government.

We are encouraged and pleased to know that with regard to this

particular issue, our highest court has affirmed the American tradition of basic constitutional rights for all.”

In mid-June, a unanimous, 9-0 decision by the Supreme Court rejected a lower court decision preventing Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life organization, from suing a Democratic congressman over a freedom of speech claim. The case, involving an SBA List advertisement claiming that the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” funds abortions, will be allowed to move forward.

According to Napp Nazworth of The Christian Post, during the 2010 election, SBA List funded a campaign telling voters that Congressman Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio, voted for taxpayer-funded abortion because of his vote for the ACA. When SBA List sought to place the message on a billboard, Driehaus threatened

to sue under an Ohio law that makes it a crime to publish false statements about a candidate. Because of the lawsuit threat, the billboard owner declined to let SBA List rent the space, Nazworth said.

SBA List sued Driehaus, arguing that the lawsuit threat violated their freedom of speech. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled that SBA List did not have standing to sue because the case was dismissed after the election was over. SBA List lawyers argued that the group still suffered harm even though they were never prosecuted. All nine Supreme Court justices agreed and overturned the Appeals Court’s decision. The American Civil Liberties Union, usually a pro-abortion legal group, supported SBA List’s freedom of speech concerns in the case.

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative/PAC Director, PA Pro-Life Fed-eration, gallagher@paprolife.org

It was a question I heard often during primary season, “Where does Tom Wolf stand on the issue of life?”

Wolf ultimately survived the Democratic primary and emerged as his party’s candidate for Gover-nor. But people may be surprised to learn that Wolf -- who is largely a political unknown -- has adopted a radical stance on abortion.

Visit his website, click on the

Issues section, then click on the tab labeled “Women.” The very first line talks about “standing up for women’s reproductive rights.” Hmmm. That’s code for unlimited abortion, with no respect for the tiny woman in the womb. Ironi-cally, later on the page, Wolf talks about being a “fierce advocate for strong family issues” including “health care options for children.”

Certainly, abortion is not in the best interests of an unborn child’s health.

But abortion has also proved

dangerous for women’s health. The long-term effects from abor-tion can be devastating, including the possibility of subsequent ste-rility, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and suicidal tendencies.

Wolf’s extremist views on abortion have been confirmed through the endorsement he re-ceived from the NARAL PAC, which opposes common sense protective laws such as parental consent, informed consent, 24-

Where Tom Wolf Stands on Abortion

Continued on Page 11

Pennsylvanians for Human LifeScranton Chapter506 BroadwayScranton, PA 18505

Scranton Chapter marks 40th Anniversary Year

with a Commemorative Banquet, Friday Nov 14

Fiorelli’s in Peckville. See page 6Early reservations available

Supreme Court Upholds Free Speech in Two Pro-Life-Related Decisions

Page 2 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014www.prolifescranton.org

Hobby Lobby Case: The Fight for Religious Freedom! THE DECISION!by Mary Ann Haas

The Hobby Lobby case is about religious freedom, not contraception. It’s about Government over reach and the First Amendment! It’s the test case to greater restricting of Religious Freedom in our country. It all started with the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The law stipulates that employers need to provide health care for their employees that cover ALL forms of contraception at no cost.

The owners of Hobby Lobby whose case was consolidated with Conestoga Wood Specialties, don’t have a problem with offering insurance that covers most forms of birth control, in fact their insurance provides 16 contraceptive methods of the 20 mandated under the Affordable Health Care act. They provided these before Obamacare even existed. However, the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, state they cannot provide or pay for the four potentially life-threatening drugs and devices. These drugs include IUDs, Plan B and Ella, the so-called morning-after pill and the week-after pill. Covering these would violate Continued on Page 11

their deeply held religious belief that life begins at the moment of conception, when an egg is fertilized. The Greene family believe this is murder and claimed this contraceptive mandate violated their Firs t Amendment right to religious freedom… The Supreme Court agreed!

T h e q u e s t i o n was whether for-profit c o m p a n i e s h a v e a right to exercise their Religious Freedom under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a federal law passed in 1993 that states the “Government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.” If they do, does the government have a compelling interest to override it in this instance?

On June 30, 2014 in a 5 to 4 decision, the high court ruled that under the RFRA, this mandate introduced under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), amounts to a “substantial burden” laid upon such companies whose

refusal to comply would result in ruinous fines. The Supreme

Court ruled, in the Hobby Lobby case, that Hobby Lobby did not have to provide the abortifacients t o t h e i r w o m e n employees, because it DID, in fact, violate their deeply held religious belief that prohibits them from providing heal th coverage for contraceptive drugs and

devices that end human life after conception.” The Facts: Hobby Lobby is not denying women access to basic care or contraception. Women can still get these four contraceptives. Their Insurance just won’t pay for it. This ruling was specific to the four that are not preventative but rather abort the fertilized egg.

The ruling was a very narrow decision. It only applied to companies that are a closely held corporation such as Hobby Lobby, which is owned by one family. This stems from the Supreme Court, Citizens United case when it ruled that a corporation has many of the same rights as a private citizen. The Democrats

went ballistic and have railed against the decision just like they have railed against the Hobby Lobby case. The ironic thing is, this case referred to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that was passed, almost, by a unanimous Congress and signed into law by Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

You’ll never believe who was a co-sponsor of this bill. Are you ready? Better sit down. Nancy Pelosi. The hypocrisy is stunning. She held a press conference and complained that “five men” are telling women what they can do with their bodies. Of course, she, conveniently, forgets the Supreme Court that decided Roe vs. Wade was made up of all men.

Speaker of the House John Boehner remarked, “The mandate overturned today would have required for-profit companies to choose between violating their constitutionally-protected faith or paying crippling fines, which would have forced them to lay off employees or close their doors.”

Hobby Lobby employs 13,000 people.

Hobby Lobby voluntarily pays its full-time employees at least $14 an hour - almost twice

the federal minimum wage.To counter the Supreme

Court’s Hobby Lobby decision another bill was brought forward for consideration, the “Protect Women’s Health From Corporate Interference Act of 2014,” a bill that would curtail religious freedom. On July 17, 2014, in a procedural vote, the United States Senate decided not to consider this bill. Fifty-six senators-- four shy of the number necessary-- voted to consider the bill, while 43 opposed it. While the outcome of the vote was a relief, it is sobering to think that more than half the members of the US Senate, sworn to uphold the laws and Constitution of the United States, would vote for a bill whose purpose is to reduce the religious freedom of their fellow Americans,” said Jayd Henricks, director of government relations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “We need more respect for religious freedom in our nation, not less.

NOW (National Organization for Women) has a list it calls “The Dirty 100″, a list where it excoriates companies for not providing the services Planned

Governor Corbett Signs “Chloe’s Law”O n J u l y 1 8 ,

P e n n s y l v a n i a Governor Tom Corbett signed into law the “Down Syndrome P r e n a t a l a n d Postnatal Education A c t ” c o m m o n l y known as “Chloe’s Law”. “Pennsylvania became the 7th state to implement legislation intended to provide to new and expectant parents “Up-to-date, evidence-based information about Down syndrome that has been reviewed by medical experts and national Down syndrome organizations” and also “contact information regarding First Call programs and support services”

accord ing to the Le jeune Founda t ion USA a Down Syndrome research and advocacy organization.

In the 2008 the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act sponsored by

Senators Kennedy and Brownback provided that women should receive all of the information r e c o m m e n d e d b y professional guidelines. This federal legislation has never been funded o r imp lemen ted , so states have taken on state-level measures. Currently professional guidelines recommend offering prenatal testing for Down syndrome to all

patients, but physicians are also supposed to provide information on physical, developmental, educational, and psychosocial outcomes, life expectancy, clinical course, intellectual development and t rea tment opt ions for

children with Down syndrome but often do not. Chloe’s Law was needed to provide up-to-date, accurate information about Down syndrome and referral to parent support organizations because too often parents are simply told the test result and that is it. In a study by Goff et al, women reported negative experiences of receiving a prenatal diagnosis outnumbering positive ones 2.5 to 1. 1 in 4 women reported that their health care provider was insistent that they abort their child. Chloe’s Law is a caring law that will improve patient care. We applaud Governor Corbett and the Pennsylvania legislators who supported Chloe’s law and the Kondrich family for promoting this legislation.

Governor Corbett Signs “Chloe’s Law”

In The Last 3 Years, Great Strides Have Been Made To Protect Pregnant Women And

Their Babies1. Gov. Corbett signed a landmark

law ensuring abortion centers meet basic health standards in response to the tremendous tragedy in West Philadel-phia, where abortionist Kermit Gosnell killed full-term infants and a female patient.

2. Five abortion centers in PA have closed down because they could not or would not meet the safety rules required by law.

3. Gov. Corbett signed House Bill 818 to protect taxpayer funds from being used to pay for abortion in the health insurance exchange created by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Page 3 www.prolifescranton.org

Published By Pennsylvanians For Human Life, Scranton Chapter506 Broadway, Scranton, Pennsylvania 18505

(570) 347-8299 (570) 343-5099President Helen GohslerChairman Patrick Williams

Contributing WritersSue Cirba, Karen Dempsey, Joseph A. Caputo, Mary Ann Haas, Maureen Manzano, Rev. Jack Munley, Deacon Robert Behrens, Helen Gohsler, Theresa Baux, Gary Cangemi, Anthony Pamelia, Tony DePaola

Editor Maureen ManzanoLayout PHL Staff

Continued on Page 8

Many Doctors Opting Out of Medicare and Medicaid. Won’t Take New Patients.

by Maureen ManzanoAnother case before the

Supreme Court exempted a Christian college also battling the HHS Mandate.

During the last week in June, the Supreme Court voted to allow a Wheaton College to opt out of signing a form that would result in their insurance company providing employees with “free” birth control and abortifacients. Instead, says the high court, the coverage will kick in after they inform HHS of their religious objection.

The 6-3 decision exempts the college from filing Form 700, which certifies its religious objection to providing abortifacient drugs to women, until the case has been fully adjudicated, according to an article by Ben Johnson of lifesitenews.com.

When an employer files Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Form 700, the Obama administration requires its insurance company to provide “free” birth control to

Freedom of Conscience/Religion Also Upheld in College Case

the insured with no co-pay. Other religious non-profits, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, see signing the form as tantamount to a “permission slip” and would amount to material cooperation with evil.

Quoting the justices’ brief, unsigned decision, the court said: “If the applicant informs the Secretary of Health and Human Services in writing that it is a non-profit organization that holds itself out as religious and has religious objections to providing coverage for contraceptive services, the respondents are enjoined from enforcing. To meet the condition for injunction pending appeal, the applicant need not use the form prescribed by the Government, EBSA Form 700, and need not send copies to health insurance issuers or third-party administrators.”

To date, 122 religious non-profits have filed suit against the HHS mandate, according to the article.

by Tony DePaolaWho serves on the United

States Supreme Court is important to every pro-life person, especially after court decisions, like Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton that legalized abortion on demand in the United States. Elections in 2014 and 2016 could be pivotal in swaying the court’s opinion on life issues.

Of the current justices, four of them have been appointed by Democratic presidents who favored legalized abortion and five by Republican presidents who were against legalized abortion. Though the justices do not always vote along party lines, their positions on legalized abortion strongly correlate with the presidents who appointed them.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were both nominated by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

On key pro-life issues, both justices dissented. According to newyorkcourtwatcher.com, Justice Sotomayor, appointed in August 2009, voted like a political liberal 83 percent of the time. Justice Kagan, appointed in August 2010, in turn, voted like a political liberal 91 percent of the time.

In the decision regarding

Influencing Supreme Court Justice Appointees With 2014 & 2016 Elections

whether to uphold the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, both justices supported the law of

the land and its individual mandate. In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which regarded Obamacare’s HHS Mandate, Kagan and Sotomayor opposed the decision which ruled that closely held corporations whose owners have sincere religious objections to

paying for insurance coverage for abortifacients are entitled to an exemption.

New justices will likely be confirmed during the next two election cycles. Four justices are over 75 year’s old, two were appointed by a Democrat and two by a Republican. (The other five justices are between the ages 54-66; two were appointed by a Democrat and three by

Republicans.)The election in 2014 is an

off-year election. Though the presidential race

will not be held then, races for over one third of the senatorial seats will. The Senate can influence the makeup of the Supreme Court, since U. S. Constitution requires that the Senate give advice and consent to persons nominated to the Supreme Court by the President. Confirmation requires over 50% of the votes cast. The Senate is currently composed of fifty-three Democrats and forty-five Republicans. Thirty-six seats will be up for election in 2014, of those, twenty-one are Democrat seats and fifteen are Republican seats. Of those, five Democrats and three Republicans are retiring. With that, predicting control of the Senate is anyone’s guess.

by Sue Cirba“When government pays,

abuses and inflation follow. The patients and physicians don’t care how much it (health care) costs (somebody else is paying for it). Hence our system 47 years later is unsustainable.” wrote a doctor from Texas. “As costs mount due to extra paperwork and extra regulations, and payments for invoices decrease, a point will be reached where people (doctors) will leave the field.” wrote another MD. These comments come from a 2012 survey conducted by the Doctor Patient Medical A s s o c i a t i o n ( D P M A ) o f Alexandria, Virginia. Statistics provided by The Commonwealth Foundation of Harrisburg, PA find, “Currently one in every

three doctors will not accept new Medicaid patients” Many

doctors believe government controlled health care is unsustainable.

M e d i c a i d a n d Medicare were created when President Lyndon B . J o h n s o n s i g n e d amendments to the Social Security Act on July 30, 1965 as part of his “Great

Society”. They took effect in 1966 and have continued to grow steadily. Initially there were fewer people receiving Medicaid and more workers sharing the tax burden. In 2000, four workers supported one Medicaid recipient but today 2.8 workers support one Medicaid recipient. To control costs the government has steadily reduced payments to doctors for their services while increasing regulations.

Doctors reacted to third-party interference in the doctor- patient relationship, increased regulations and lower payments for services provided to Medicare and Medicaid patients. From Colorado: “I know how to take care of sick and injured people. PLEASE let me do my job the way I was trained to do it. I am so sick and tired of people with vastly inferior training or no medical training whatsoever, telling me how to treat my

patients.” From Florida: “I did not go to school for 25+ years to be a computer programmer for the Federal Government.” wrote an Ophthalmologist. From North Carolina: “Medicaid has created enough obstacles that it is becoming harder and harder to even file as a chiropractor.” From North Carolina: “Quit forcing doctors to provide care to illegal aliens without payments for services.” These comments are from the DPMA survey

conducted after the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was passed by Congress. Six-hundred ninety-nine doctors responded to the survey. From Massachusetts: “Medicare and health insurance companies have taken over control of health care. I spend 6-8 hours weekly trying to get insurance companies to cover most of the cost of medications that my patients need just to be able to function at a minimal

Continued on Page 7

Page 4 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014www.prolifescranton.org

VOICES FOR LIFE Editorial CommentaryFrom the President’s Desk..... Senator Casey’s Actions Negate His Claim to “A Pro-Life Senator”

Citizen Kane Seems Confused About her Job

Continued on Page 5

by Gary CangemiPennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane seems a bit confused about

what an Attorney General actually does. Recently, she refused to defend Penn-sylvania’s marriage laws because she believed them to be “unconstitutional.” Isn’t that the job of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court — to determine whether Pennsylvania’s laws are constitutional? Isn’t it the job of the Attorney General to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth, and when they are challenged, to defend them on behalf of the people who elected her to office?

While the marriage issue isn’t the concern of Pennsylvanians for Human Life, the protections we have gained for defenseless human life over the years and the laws which limit or control access to abortion are very much our concern. The question which has continually plagued us since Kathleen Kane was elected is whether or not she will enforce or defend these laws. When she campaigned for office, Kane vowed to drop the state’s opposition to Obamacare, to oppose reforms in the wake of the Gosnell “chamber of horrors” abortion clinic scandal, to oppose ultrasound legislation, and to oppose any law she deemed to be unconstitutional. This past May, state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe called for articles of impeachment against Kane for refusing to defend PA marriage laws and for failing to bring charges against state representatives reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer to have taken money from undercover operatives.

Ironically, Kane herself condemned such “pick and choose” law enforce-ment in a televised interview on PCN in March 2012.

“The Attorney General does not have the right to pick and choose which laws he enforces, in fact that’s a dangerous proposition...you need to make sure you enforce the laws or else you’re just playing politics,” Kane told the interviewer.

Is that what you are playing, Ms. Kane, politics? Is that how you plan to defend Pennsylvania’s abortion control laws? We’ll be watching.

by Helen GohslerW h a t i s i t a b o u t

Senator Bob Casey, our self-proclaimed pro-life senator, who is so wedded to Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortion in our country, that he never misses an opportunity to uphold the value of their reproductive services? Take the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing Hobby Lobby to claim a religious freedom exemption to the Obamacare requirement that they provide health insurance coverage for all contraception including those that are deemed to cause an abortion.

Rather than commend the victory for religious l iber ty, he s ta ted , “ I strongly support access to contraceptives and have voted to provide funding for family planning.” He added, “With today’s ruling, I believe it is even more important that we continue to work towards alternative options for ensuring that all women have access to affordable family planning.”

Casey wasted no time in co-sponsoring Senate Bill 2578, the Protect Women’s Health From Corporate Interference Act of 2014 also known as “Not My Boss’ Business Act.” When the bill failed to obtain the 60 votes required to invoke cloture, Casey stated that he was disappointed that the Senate voted against the measure, describing it as a “common-sense step to ensure that for-profit CEOs cannot interfere in their employees’ decisions

about contraception and other health services.”

Senator Casey says he will continue “to protect religious liberty for the American people while fighting to ensure that m o r e w o m e n h a v e a c c e s s t o a f fo rdab l e contraceptives.” Never mind tha t t he Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case did not take away a woman’s right to contraception. It simply said that those that can cause an abortion could be rejected by an employer for insurance coverage purposes.

Casey’s website states his support for Plan B (the morning after pill), one of the four contraceptives for which Hobby Lobby d i s a l l o w s i n s u r a n c e payment in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling. His website also shows votes against prohibiting federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood and for other organizations that perform abortions.

At a meeting three years ago, with representatives of our organization in his Scranton office, Senator Casey said he supports P l a n n e d P a r e n t h o o d because they do good things, and that contraceptive services reduce abortions. Information was presented to the senator and his chief of staff, Jim Brown, showing that Planned Parenthood’s own records reveal that for every million

dollar increase in taxpayer dollars received, Planned Parenthood performs an

additional thousand abort ions, while at the same time, prenatal services and adoption referrals were reduced.

I pe r sona l ly gave Casey a copy of Abby Johnson’s book, UnPlanned,

where she described how she quit her job as the director of a Bryan, Texas Planned Parenthood abortion clinic after being asked to assist in an ultrasound-guided abortion. She also revealed how they were given quotas to increase the number of abortions performed.

In her book, Abby described her difficulty in assisting in the abortion. “The image of that tiny twisting and struggling baby kept playing in my mind,” she said. “And the patient, I felt so guilty. I had taken something precious from her and she didn’t even know it.” Abby wondered how had she let this happen. She had invested herself, her heart and her career in Planned Parenthood because she cared about women, and now she faced a crisis of her own.

Looking back, Abby wrote, “I was trying to understand how I found myself in that place – living a lie, spreading a lie and hurting the very women I so wanted to help. “NEVER AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN” – and she walked out the door, never to return.

Senator Casey had

agreed to read the book; however, no word was received that either he or his staff had read it. Casey would like us to believe that Planned Parenthood is necessary to provide a variety of health services t o w o m e n . P l a n n e d Parenthood receives $1.2 billion a year of taxpayer dollars. If a small amount of these funds were given to honest providers that offer real health care and support to women, Planned Parenthood could do their baby killing with their own resources.

Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Page 5 www.prolifescranton.org

Disturbing Trends In The Hospice Industryby Deacon Robert Behrens

Up un t i l r ecen t ly, the United States, and other nations traditionally said to have made up what was referred to as “Christendom” took seriously the Ten Commandments, and utilized them to provide the underpinnings for their legal systems, and for their ways of life.

N e e d l e s s t o s a y, t h e Commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, more accurately translated from Hebrew as “Thou Shall Not Murder”, provided the basis for much of our current code of criminal law. “Murder” may best be defined as the direct, unwarranted, taking of innocent human life.

As the United States (and the entire Western world) walks away from its Christian roots, there can be observed an ongoing, disturbing, abandonment of

Judeo-Christian ethical standards in the medical field. This can be seen from standards governing the beginning of human life (embryonic stem cell research, abortion, in vitro fertilization, etc.), through the end of human life.

Traditionally, for example , Cathol ic Moral Teaching has always held that one can NEVER morally take directly the life of an innocent human being, under any circumstances. In line with this principle, there are standards governing “end of life” issues. While we are not required to use “extraordinary” means to preserve human life (i.e., means which are beyond our financial means, or which are unlikely to succeed, etc.), we are required to

use “ordinary” m e a n s t o preserve human life. “Ordinary means” usually translates to

procedures which are financially affordable, and are likely to succeed. We are always required to provide food & hydration (as long as the person’s body continues to accept it), a roof over the head of the sick person, and to do everything to make the person comfortable as the

end of life approaches. The latter is referred to as “palliative care”.

In recent years, there has been a praiseworthy attempt to provide organized attempts to provide palliative care to dying people. In 1967, Cicely Saunders, an Anglican nurse, established the first hospice in 1967 in a residential suburb of London, England. (1.) The hospice method developed by

Saunders for terminally ill patients involved “pain relief and comfort, counselling for patients and families and spiritual guidance, if requested. ‘The last stages of life should not be seen as defeat, but as life’s fulfillment’”. (2.)

The hospice movement took off in the U.S. when Congress established the Medicare hospice benefit. This came about as the result of lobbying by a Methodist minister by the name of Hugh Westbrook, who had started a non-profit hospice in South Florida. (3.)

By and large, there has been little in the way of problems with “non-profit” and faith-based hospice operations. Subsequent to establishment of the Medicare hospice benefit, Westbrook managed to get the Florida State Legislature to authorize the existence of “for profit” hospice

operations. (4.) He then merged his “non-profit” hospice into the “for profit” chain he had been building in other States, Hospice Care, Inc. (HCI). In 1991, the Department of Health inspector general concluded that HCI administrators had urged workers to boost revenues by making sure that a unit the company managed in a Chicago hospital remained full. Ultimately, this chain was re-named Vitas Healthcare. In 1997, a government audit found that a majority of long-stay patients at a dozen large hospices were not eligible for care under Medicare guidelines. Half of the cases surveyed were Vitas patients. No action was taken against the company. (5.)

Since 2000, the hospice industry has more than quadrupled in size, and the number of hospice

Continued on Page 10

Senator Casey’s Actions Negate His Claim to “A Pro-Life Senator”Continued from Page 4A challenge was left with

Mr. Casey and Mr. Brown to have staff investigate our claim that Planned Parenthood’s goal is not to decrease abortions, but to increase them, along with our request that Senator Casey withdraw his support of Planned Parenthood. Casey has steadfastly supported Planned Parenthood because he claims preventing unwanted pregnancies reduces the numbers of abortions. The facts do not bear that out. Planned Parenthood’s own reports show that as the number of abortions nationwide has declined over the past seventeen years, the number of Planned Parenthood abortions has increased.

Consider this: In 2010, Planned Parenthood established an abortion mandate for all its affiliates, with abortion quotas to be achieved. And Planned Parenthood mega clinics are now becoming the norm expanding to over 10,000 square feet. The largest is in Houston, Texas, six stories tall, expanding to 78,000

square feet, with a spacious waiting room, costing a grand total of $26 million to build.

And wouldn’t you know, it was bound to happen – as any successful business would give an award for a job well done – Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains has awarded its Aurora Abortion Clinic for exceeding the number of babies killed in abortion for the first half of 2013 in comparison to the previous year. The certificate is prominently posted for all to see.

I guess that debunks Senator Casey’s claim that Planned Pa ren thood’s d i s t r i bu t ion of contraception reduces the numbers of abortion. And how about all those good things that Planned Parenthood does, like mammograms for instance. Well, Planned Parenthood can only provide breast exams because they don’t have mammogram equipment in any of their clinics. Isn’t that interesting with the annual $1.2 billion federal dollars they receive – they can’t afford mammogram equipment? Or,

perhaps performing mammograms requires professional training and time which would interrupt their abortion production lines.

And here’s another little gem about Planned Parenthood – web cam abortions. At Planned Parenthood’s discretion, young girls may receive the abortion drug RU 486 via Skype. An abortionist at the other end of the screen can simply push a button

and release the pills.Is there nothing sacred with

this organization? Apparently not and it gets worse. Shocking new videos released by Lila Rose, the head of Live Action, show Planned Parenthood counselors teaching (supposed) under-age teenagers as young as fifteen on how to engage in sadistic sexual activities such as gagging, whipping and asphyxiation.

In a series of undercover videos, Live Action investigators documented Planned Parenthood counselors and nurses advising who they thought were minors on how to practice torture sex. The Planned Parenthood counselors w e r e t a p e d e n c o u r a g i n g investigators posing as 15 and 16 year-old teens to engage in the sadomasochistic practices, telling them, “if it’s consensual, it’s ok.”

Lila Rose says Planned Parenthood consistently fights any law requiring parental consent or involvement for minors seeking sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion. She says Planned Parenthood’s website

encourages teens to circumvent their parents and the law. At this time, a Planned Parenthood abort ion cl inic in Denver, Colorado is facing a lawsuit for doing an abortion on a raped 13-yr-old and returning her to her rapist.

Planned Parenthood receives over $500 million a year from taxpayers, in the name of sex education and health. In addition under Obamacare, Planned Parenthood will receive $75 million a year from the Personal Responsibility and Education Program, with fifteen Planned Parenthood affiliates already having received grants. For years we have tried with no success to convince Senator Casey to stop funding Planned Parenthood.

The time has come for the Senator to end his courtship with Planned Parenthood by bucking his own party and leading an effort in the U.S. Senate to defund this organization’s evil and deadly agenda.

Page 6 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014www.prolifescranton.org

Scranton Chapter Marks The 40th Anniversary of Its Founding: Banquet to Honor Forty Year Fight for Life!Four decades and over 55

million abortions since the Roe v. Wade decision of Jan. 22, 1973 legalizing abortion-on-demand in all fifty states, the battle to create a culture of life in America rages on. Locally, that battle has been carried on by the Scranton Chapter of Pennsylvanians for Human Life and on Friday, November 14th, 2014, it will mark the occasion with a Respect

Life Banquet at Fiorelli’s, 1501 Main St in Peckville, PA. All members, supporters, volunteers, members of the clergy and interested persons are invited to attend and commemorate this major milestone in the history of our fight to uphold the dignity of and respect for human life from conception until its natural end.

It will be a time to honor those whose significant contributions of

time, talent, and energy helped make this one of the most pro-life communities in the United States, denying the abortion industry a foothold in Scranton and Lackawanna County, as well as a time to look forward, enjoining a new generation of human rights defenders to take up the pro-life banner.

Ernest Ohlhoff, outreach director for the National Right to

Life Committee, Washington D.C. will be featured speaker. He is a former resident of the Poconos in PA, and initially became involved with the Scranton Chapter before moving on to higher positions in the pro-life movement.

Included within the NRLC Outreach Dept. are American Victims of abortion, Religious Outreach, Youth Outreach (Teens and College) and Black Americans

and Native Americans for Life.Reservations for the Banquet

may be made by contacting the Scranton Chapter at 570-347-8299 or 343-5099. Tickets cost is $30.00 per person with Dinner being served at 7 PM and cash bar beginning at 6 PM. Advance requests for reservations may be mailed including total amount and number of reservations. Send to PA For Human Life, 506 Broadway, Scranton PA 18505.A Nostalgic Look Back At Four Decades

Above: In 1979, members of Pennsylvanians for Human Life prepare to board buses headed for the March for Life.Right: Attorney Robert Martin, chairman of the PHL board, helps with the 1985 carnation sale.

Above: In 1987, PHL volunteers Marie Neary, Claire Mangan, Florence Koziol, Abbey Abbott, Gretchen O’Boyle and Ann Barrett prepare a mailing at PHL’s first pro-life center located on Vine Street.

Above: Sister Noralene Calpin with students from the pro-life club at Bishop O’Hara High School attend the 1986 Respect Life Prayer Breakfast.Left: Ann Banick and Elizabeth Lapsansky manage the information table at the prayer breakfast in 1986.

A b o v e : N R L C conven t ion 1985 (front) Marie Neary, Elizabeth Lapsansky, A n n B a n i c k , S r. Nora lene Ca lp in (rear) Janet Benestad, Mary Perault, Lillilan Piatt, Diane Parente and her daughter, and Mary Louise HaggertyRight: Mother Teresa

addresses the 1985 NRL convention.

Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Page 7 www.prolifescranton.org

babies, to the Oregon power plant in order to generate electricity for the Portland area. Another company from Great Britain got a permit to ship aborted fetuses across an international border into the United States for ‘industrial purposes.’

What is happening to us? Decades ago we used to respect life, in all forms. We used to treat the unborn with the respect they deserve. We abhorred death, whether it occurred inside the womb or out, and people would use abortion as a last resort. Today,

Power Plants Using Aborted Babies to Generate Electricityby Karen Dempsey

A power plant in Oregon has been ordered by its county commission to stop burning medical waste to power homes after it was discovered that it was using aborted babies to fuel electricity generators. The Covanta Marion power plant in Brooks, Oregon, has been using aborted and miscarried babies to feed the incinerator and generate electricity for Oregon homes.

“We thought our ordinance excluded this type of material at the waste-to-energy facility,” said Sam Brentano, chairman of the Marion County commissioners.

A practice more shameful than disgusting, it is a common procedure in Canada and the United Kingdom to mix “waste baby parts” with other disposable medical garbage to sell for profit to electric generating companies.

In this case, hospitals in Brit ish Columbia, Canada, would sell their medical waste, containing aborted and miscarried

due to the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, an unborn child is seen as nothing but a fuel source. Think about that. There are enough aborted babies today to warrant them being regularly bought and sold as a fuel source!

Pro-life advocates, any human being with a conscience, should be at a loss for words by the fact that we live in a world where aborted children are bought and sold for industrial purposes. It should offend law-abiding citizens, regardless of what side of the political spectrum you fall on. Making sure that aborted babies aren’t sold as a fuel source shouldn’t be a Republican or Democratic issue; it should be a human issue.

While the pro-abortion movement frequently condemns pro-life advocates who draw comparisons between abortions

and the Holocaust, the report of babies burned to heat homes and generate electricity is a shocking reminder of the callous way human life was treated by the Nazi regime. They, like today’s progressive, pro-abortionists, softened that callousness of their crimes with language. But using the term “aborting fetuses” does not change the truth, when in fact, it is “murdering babies.” As Glenn Beck said in a commentary on the Oregon scandal, “Stop calling them ‘fetal tissue.’ These are ‘aborted babies!’ We are powering homes in Oregon with aborted babies!”

The amount of business associated with the abortion industry in this country is staggering. Some estimate that it generates more than $500,000,000 a year. This entire industry has been built up around the notion of killing unborn children. So is it not surprising that these clinics would also want to make money on the back-end as well? What better way than selling the ‘waste’

of their murders to power plants? The mere idea that someone came up with the idea to use aborted babies as a fuel source should upset even the most ardent pro-abortion supporters.

It is shameful that we as a species, profit on the murders of the unborn. We should be outraged over the fact that when we turn on the light switch, we now need to wonder whether the electricity service we use is being generated by incinerating the unborn.

It is unconscionable that Congress continues to sit by while the abortion industry continuously grows to the point that unborn children are being bought and sold....then incinerated like garbage

Pro-life advocates are not asking for every aborted and miscarried child to be given a full burial. However at the very least, it is imperative that we force Congress to stop companies from buying and selling the unborn as if they were commodities.

This isn’t just something that is going on just in Oregon. Power plants have agreements like this in place all across the country and around the world. Earlier this year, news broke that a British hospital also incinerated more than 15,000 aborted babies in order to heat the building. There is no doubt that this is far more widespread than just a power plant in Oregon.

A daunting thought...that the light bulb you use to read by might be generated by the incinerated remains of an unborn baby.

level.” wrote a Psychiatrist. From Minnesota: “Government pay propagates government control. The Federal government has no constitutional authority in health care AT ALL (This includes medicare and medicaid)” wrote a radiologist.

The DPMA survey asked doctors, “How will you respond to lower Medicare/Medicaid payments?’ , 48.9% of 699 physicians said they would stop taking new Medicaid patients. 42% would stop taking New Medicare patients and 31.6% would opt out of Medicare completely and 32.9% would opt out of medicine or retire early. The trend of physicians opting out of Medicare and Medicaid seems to be growing. From Illinois: “I am 80% of the way towards being third-party (payer) free.” From

Texas, “I own a 4 physician FP (family practice) group; I will be out of business when Obamacare is fully implemented; we got out of Medicare this year.” From Tennessee: “I haven’t taken any third party payment for over 11 years.” From South Carolina: “I opted out of all insurance 6 years ago and really enjoy practicing medicine again.”

When President Obama toured the country to gain public support for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). he stated repeatedly, “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” If you are a Medicare or Medicaid patient and your doctor will no longer see Medicare or Medicaid patients, then YOU CANNOT KEEP YOUR DOCTOR. If you are a new Medicare of Medicaid patient you will have a more difficult time finding a doctor which may mean delays in care.

When asked to rank “What would most improve medicine?” Seventy percent of the doctors who responded to the DPMA survey said reducing government regulations and mandates would most improve medicine and sixty-three percent said repealing part or all of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would most improve medicine. Patients taking more responsibility for their health came in at sixty-eight percent, and prohibit rationing of care came in at forty-seven percent.

As our aging population swells the Medicare rolls and Obamacare pressures states to add more people to its Medicaid rolls, more doctors will opt out of these government run health care programs and patients will be expected to pay directly for their care.

Many Doctors Opting Out of Medicare and MedicaidContinued from Page 3

Remember When Cardinal O’Connor marched with PHL members in the

March for Life?Frank Germain is holding PHL umbrella.

Federal workers may choose Pennsylvanians For Human Life Education Fund for the new cam-

Donate Through CFC Campaignspaign in September. Our CFC code for the Campaign is 86298.

Page 8 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014www.prolifescranton.org

Consult with an attorney when making a will, or even when changing one, to include PA for Human Life in your will. Let your life be a legacy to future generations whose lives PHL will continue to defend in your memory. For more information, contact the Pro-Life Center at 570-343-5099.We express our gratitude for a bequest recently received from the estate of Barbara M. Pecuch

Please remember PHL in your will.

Does control of the Senate really matter? Consider the 1986 elections, when the Democrats regained the control of the Senate. The following year, President Ronald Reagan nominated Robert Bork as Supreme Court Justice, a man with similar views and one who felt that Roe v. Wade was egregiously decided. For those same reasons, Democrat Senators vehemently opposed Bork. In particular, Senator Ted Kennedy made outlandish accusations and declared, “In Robert Bork’s America, there is no room at the inn for blacks and no place in

the constitution for women, and, in our America, there should be no seat on the Supreme Court for Robert Bork.” That Senate rejected Bork’s confirmation 42-58. As a result, President Reagan nominated a more moderate candidate, Anthony Kennedy, who was eventually confirmed. His was the fifth vote needed to overturn Roe v. Wade in the 1991 decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, but he voted otherwise.

The 2016 elections will choose a new president and another thirty-four senators. Many liberals hope that the frail Ruth Bader Ginsburg will resign now, so the President Obama

could nominate another liberal justice, while the Democrats still control the Senate. To them, ensuring her vote is crucial, since the other three older justices will turn 80 during the next president’s first term.

Nei ther Pennsylvanian senator runs for re-election in 2014. Senator Pat Toomey is up for re-election in 2016, and Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. in 2018. For the record, Sen. Casey voted to confirm Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, both appointed by President Obama; Sen. Toomey has yet the opportunity to confirm a justice.

Continued from Page 3Influencing Supreme Court Justice Appointees With 2014 & 2016 Elections

Grateful Student Acknowledges Mother’s Choice For Lifeby Morgan Yearick

Most people view abortion as a political issue. For me, it stands as a personal issue. In just a short amount of time, women’s rights have improved, but op-pression still occurs throughout modern society. It disguises it-self as equality and choice, when ultimately it leaves women with fewer freedoms than deserved. This domination of women’s personal liberties exists in the form of abortion. The prevailing argument of pro-choice supporters remains that women deserve the

In Memor y of Barbara PecuchBarbara Mary Pecuch of Old

Forge, a volunteer for the Scranton Chapter of PHL, passed away on August 9, 2013 from pancreatic cancer.

She was the daughter of the late John and Bertha Hrobuchak Pecuch and was a 1965 graduate of Old Forge High School. She was an advocate of the Pro-Life movement and believed that all human life should be protected because it is a Gift from God. She was a lifelong parishioner of St. Michael’s Orthodox Church, Old Forge.

Prior to her death, Barbara left the following message for her family and friends: I thank God

for the many edifying people He placed in my life, all of which embodied the following Scripture (Romans 8:35, 37-39) “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or misfortune, or persecution, or

hunger, or destitution, or danger, or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Thank you my family/friends, we shall never be separated because of Christ’s love that He allowed us to share.

Pennsylvanians For Human Life expresses its gratitude for a bequest recently received from Barbara’s estate.

May her Memory be Eternal, and May She Rest in Peace.

right to choose for themselves. However, too often the women who are faced with the terrifying uncertainty of an unplanned preg-nancy believe they are left with no option other than abortion. Family and friends tell them they cannot do it, or that it will ruin their life. Abusive partners threaten them. Society leaves an unforgiving stigma on them, making them feel like they are less of a person. The United States of America ranks number one for the total number of abortions per year in the west-ern world. It ranks number four

in the world overall. Why, in the United States, do women feel so compelled to commit such an act? Certainly it is not their fault, but rather the fault of society for failing them. Women receive abortions out of fear and despera-tion. They feel they have no other choice. If the United States’ cul-ture changed to allow compassion and guidance for these women rather than pushing them aside and rendering them voiceless, then perhaps the number of abortions would decrease and society would

PENNSYLVANIA PRO-LIFE FEDERATION ANNOUNCES 2014 CELEBRATE LIFE

BANQUETThe 2014 Celebrate Life

Banquet sponsored by the PA Pro-Life Federation will take place on Tuesday Sept 30 at 6:30 PM at the Hotel Radisson Harrisburg, 1150 Camp Hill Bypass, Camp Hill, PA. Featured speaker will be the Most Reverend Ronald Gainer, newly

installed as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. The bishop regards the pro-life issue as THE paramount issue of our time. Cost of tickets is $50.00. For reservations call 717-541-0034 or online at www.paprolife.org/state-events

Continued on Page 10

Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Page 9 www.prolifescranton.org

by LifeNews.com | 6/17/14After a lengthy legal battle

between her parents and the state of Massachusetts, Justina Pelletier is finally heading home.

Thanks to the help of a pro-life legal group fighting on their behalf, Judge Johnson signed an order releasing Justina Pelletier to her parents, Lou and Linda Pelletier.

In his decision, he wrote, “I find that the parties have shown by credible evidence that circumstances have changed since the adjudication on Dec. 20, 2013, that Justina is a child in need

Justina Pelletier Released to Her Parents’ Custody to Go Home

Donation of Tricky Tray baskets are welcome by anyone willing to contribute one. Drop off at 506 Broadway or call for pick-up 343-5099. Also, sponsor contributions of $100 or more needed to help defray costs. Mail to PHL Scranton

Chapter, 506 Broadway, Scranton, PA 18505.

of care and protection pursuant to G.L. c. 199, 24-26. Effective Wednesday, June 18, 2014, this care and protection petition is dismissed and custody of Justina is returned to her parents, Lou and Linda Pelletier.”

“We are thrilled that Justina will finally be returning home” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “The family looks forward to putting this 16-month nightmare behind them. Justina and her family now begin the process of healing both physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

The decision came on the heels of a video from Justina pleading with the judge to release her.

“All I really want to be with is with my family and my friends,” Justina said in the video. “You can do it. You’re the one that’s judging this. Please let me go home Judge Johnson and Gov. Patrick,” Justina continued. “Please, right now. Please let me go home right now. I need to be home with my family and just please do it.”

Pelletier is the Connecticut teen taken from her family more than a year ago by Massachusetts

officials after her parents took her to a hospital for help. The Massachusetts state Department of Children and Families made the initial decision to commit the girl to state care on Valentine’s Day 2013 after doctors at Tufts Medical Center, which had been treating her for a rare condition, and doctors as Boston Children’s Hospital clashed over the cause of her medical problems, which included difficulty eating and walking.

The case drew national attention, as Boston Children’s Hospital filed a “medical child abuse” complaint against Justina’s parents last year, leading the state to take custody of her and hospitalize her for almost a year.

Last week, in a dramatic reversal, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) filed a motion with the courts agreeing with our petition to have Justina Pelletier returned home to her family.

The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation PAC has questioned candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor and both Governor Tom Corbett and Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley (R) are PRO-LIFE while their challengers Tom Wolf and Mike Stack (D) are PRO-ABORTION. Running for U.S. Congress in the 10th district, Congressman Tom Marino (R) is PRO-LIFE and his challenger Scott Brion (D) is PRO-ABORTION. In the 11th district, Congressman Lou Barletta is PRO-LIFE and his challenger Andy Ostrowski is PRO-ABORTION. In the 17th district Doctor David Moylan (R) is PRO-LIFE and Congressman

PRO-LIFE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE LISTS CANDIDATESMatthew Cartwright (D) has a PRO-ABORTION record.

In the race for PA Senate in the 20th district, Senator Lisa Baker (R) is PRO-ABORTION and is unchallenged. In the 22nd district, Senator John Blake (D) is PRO-LIFE and his challenger Joe Albert (R) is also PRO-LIFE.

In the race for PA House, in the 112th district, Frank Farina (D ) is PRO-LIFE and has no opposition. In the 113th district Marty Flynn (D) is PRO-LIFE and his challenger Marcel Lisi (R) is also PRO-LIFE. In the 114th district, Sid Michaels Kavulich (D) is PRO-LIFE and his challenger Melanie Madeira (R) is PRO-LIFE. In the 117th

district Karen Boback (R) is PRO-LIFE and Laura Dickson (D) is PRO-ABORTION. In the 118th Michael Carroll (D) is PRO-LIFE.

If a voter does not know which district he or she is in, go to http://www.legis.state.p a . u s / c f d o c s / l e g i s / h o m e /findyourlegislator/#address, type in street address, city, and zip code, and a window will pop up with the names of his or her Congressional representative, state representative, and state senator, along with district numbers. This candidate list is currently available from the PA Department of State as of early August, 2014.

Get your Christmas cards here and support

Pennsylvanians For Human Life!

Different card designs available.

Cost: $5 per pack

Call 343-5099 or pick up at 506 Broadway, Scranton, PA 18505

Pro-Life Rocks T-shirts available at the Pro-Life Center. All sizes - End of summer special $6.00.

Page 10 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014www.prolifescranton.org

by Wesley J. Smith | LifeNews.comNo line in bioethics is

ever fixed. Rather, the push to eradicate the boundaries that keep medical professionalism tied to Hippocratic values (sniffed at as “paternalism” by many in the field) continues unabated, with new boundary lines created, consolidated, and then moved again into ever-more extreme territory.

Some call this, the “slippery slope.” Case in point: Suicide by starvation, known as VSED (voluntary stop eating and drinking). Not only do bioethicists say doctors should participate in this method of suicide by palliating the pain starvation and dehydration causes, but also DO IT FOR THE PATIENT if they stated they wanted to die by VSED

Euthanasia Activists Want Nursing Homes to Starve Patients to Deathin an advance directive and they become mentally incapacitated.

More: They want nursing home or hospital personnel to starve such patients to death even if they willingly eat and drink! From a commentary in the Journal of Clinical Ethics by Thaddeus Mason Pope, about the Margot Bentley case:

Mrs. Bentley may have the capacity to “communicate a choice.” But this is just one component of capacity.

She does not understand the relevant information., does not appreciate the situation and its consequences, and cannot reason about treatment or care options…If the test for capacity is really this low, then current “consent” will often trump even the clearest prior instructions.”

When it comes to eating and drinking by mouth it damn well should! What if the patient said she didn’t want to be turned, whether in advance or currently? Should that be honored even if it leads to terrible bed sores? No! Turning is basic humane care.

But Pope, in a Twitter exchange with me, said yes. That “medical paternalism” is over, apparently regardless of the cost.

Please note that this isn’t refusing medical treatment–like a feeding tube–but denying basic humane care, e.g. oral sustenance.

And this should really chill your blood:

Medical, ethical, and legal commentators are reaching near consensus that capacitated patients may make a contemporaneous choice of VSED.

Far less clear is whether individuals can choose to VSED in advance, as an exercise in p rospec t ive au tonomy. Fortunately, physicians and philosophers are developing the theories, tools, and maxims to help define how and when the practice of advance VSED can be legitimately and safely [!!!] implemented.

In other words, we want to make sure these people die; now we just have to figure out how to get there.

I call this “gotcha” killing. The statement of the person when fully competent trumps the actions or, perhaps (why not?) statements of the same person if they become mentally incapacitated, even if they eat, and perhaps, even if they ask to eat.

It’s also another frontal assault on medical professionalism. But more on that later.

Slip-Slidin’ Away/ Slip-slidin’ away/The nearer your destination/ the more you slip-slidin’ away.

L i f e N e w s . c o m N o t e : Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a bioethics attorney who blogs at Human Exceptionalism.

patients has more than doubled. Most of the growth has come from “for profits”, which now make up 59% of the 3,720 Medicare-certified hospices in the U.S. (6.)

With the explosive growth of hospice, there has developed an all-out marketing blitz by hospice companies eager to keep patient counts high. James Robbins, a former sales manager at AseraCare Hospice, a chain operating in 19 States, is quoted as saying that “the pressure was direct from operations on a daily basis.....what are you not doing? Why are we not getting more patients? We’d have constant conference calls, meetings. It’s all about money”. Robbins, from Atlanta, said he would “cruise” nursing home lobbies and try to pressure medical directors at those facilities to refer directly to him. (7.)

Along with aggress ive marketing, the hospice industry has changed from one which had been a refuge for cancer patients, to one which also admitted patients with Parkinson’s Disease, dementia, and Alzheimers, where

life expectancy is difficult to predict. At present, the majority of hospice patients are in the latter category. This has contributed to longer hospice stays, and higher cost to taxpayers, since Medicare is billed by the day. (8.)

The average “for profit” length of stay in 2012 was 105 days, as compared to 69 days for “non-profits”. In 2009, “for profit” hospices charged 29% more per patient than “non-profits”. There is evidence that “for profit” hospices are trying to “game the system”, as there is a growing number of instances of hospice patients being discharged while still alive, sometimes having become healthier. Federal rules require that the average patient stay at any given hospice not exceed six months. Some institutions seek to manipulate stay lengths in order to get as close to that number as possible without going over. (9.)

One good example o f “gaming the system” can be found in the case of Odyssey Healthcare, which operates in 30 States. In 2006, they paid $13 million to settle claims that it had enrolled people in Hospice that did not

Continued from Page 5

Disturbing Trends In The Hospice Industrybelong. Six years later, in 2012, they paid $25 million to settle yet another fraud case, this time concerning charges it enrolled patients who didn’t belong in crisis care, the most expensive service offered by hospice. (10.)

In addition to Medicare fraud, with many “for profit” hospices, there have been accusations that “hospice workers all over the country are routinely killing patients”. Ron Panzer, president of the pro-life Hospice Patients Alliance (HPA) indicated, back in 2003, that “Families who report to HPA tell us they overheard nurses say things like “I’m just like Jack Kevorkian, only I do it with morphine”. Panzer reports family members describing their relatives as terminally ill, but functional and not in unmanageable pain-until a visit from a hospice nurse left the patient dead within an hour. (11.)

Wi t h t h e p a s s a g e o f the “Affordable Care Act” (Obamacare) in 2010, the issue of “end of life” care has taken yet another twist. The emphasis of that legislation has been on controlling the costs in healthcare. As a result,

the move toward rationing of healthcare is picking up steam. In the State of Michigan, Hospice of Holland’s Board of Directors voted to shut down its operations, blaming the cuts associated with the law’s implementation. “The biggest issue under the Affordable Care Act is we know that we’re going to see cuts in reimbursement. It’ll be about 12 percent”, according to executive director Torrey Hussman. (12.)

S o , w h a t w e h a v e t o look forward to in the area of hospice care may very well be a combination of hospice operations (including faith-based “non-profit” hospices) going out of business, and those choosing to remain in business stepping up their efforts in carrying out Kevorkian-like “mercy killings”.

As pro-lifers, we have a lot of work to do in this area. ( 1 t o 1 0 . ) h t t p : / / a b y s s u m .org/2014/06/19/thinking-of-hospice-for-yourself-or-for...( 11 . ) h t t p : / / w w w. l i f e n e w s .com/2003/12/19/bio-186/( 1 2 . ) h t t p : / / w w w. l i f e n e w s .com/2014/06/18/michigan-hospice-no-longer-acc...

see an improvement in the lives of its female citizens.

This subject remains very personal to me because society’s standards say I should have been aborted. My mother was a young college student when she discov-ered she was pregnant. She was uninsured and underemployed. Several of her closest friends tried to convince her to have an abor-tion. She was told that an abor-tion was not a big deal and that having a child would ruin her life. Despite this, she vowed to protect me and overcome any obstacles that would stand in our way. Her life was not ruined, regardless of what women are told. She is now running for office as a political candidate and is already changing people’s lives for the better. The insignificant clump of cells that was inside her is now going to college and preparing to change the world. I am pro-life because I want women to know that they do not need to forfeit their child to fit into the mold of society, and I hope that one day this na-tion transforms so that women no longer have to suffer in silence.

Grateful StudentContinued from Page 8

Wyoming Valley Chapter Banquet

T h e Wy o m i n g Va l l e y Chapter’s Respect Life Banquet will be held Monday, Oct 13 at 6 PM at the Genetti Hotel in Wilkes-Barre. Principal speaker will be Father Benjamin Johnson. For reservations call 570-826-1819. Cost is $30.00.

Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014 Page 11 www.prolifescranton.org

Record-Breaking Fundraiser Enables Filmmakers to Chronicle Gosnell Horror Story

Remember when the Scranton Chapter of PHL hosted the State Convention in 2009? (front) Helen Gohsler, Theresa Baux, Debbie Heisey, Maria Vitale, Mary Therese Montoro. (back row) Gary Cangemi, Sue Cirba, Mary Ann Haas, Michael Ciccioppo, Lisa Neuhauser, Anne Domin, and Augie Perrotti make plans for the

2009 Convention at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center.

team of filmmakers undertakes an historic “crowd-funding” project that raised a record-breaking $2.2 million to produce a movie about Gosnell and the ensuing media cover-up that attempted to shield the pub-lic from the gruesome details. Pennsylvanians for Human Life, Scranton Chapter was proud to have contributed funds to help put this project over the top in

its fundraising goal of two mil-lion dollars.

The filmmakers, Phelim McAleer, Ann McElhinney (husband and wife) and Magda Segieda, launched their effort on March 28 with the goal of raising more money at Indiegogo than any other entertainment project in that site’s history. Indiegogo is one of the new crowd-funding sites on the internet that offers

artists and other creatives the opportunity to take their projects directly to the public for funding. The producers of this film hope to release their project on cable television, Netflix and other me-dia platforms as well as on DVD.

The film will chronicle the gruesome activities which took place at the Gosnell facility by documenting the horrific con-tents of the grand jury report, which noted the mistreatment of patients, the unsanitary condi-tions, the killing of born-alive infants by severing their spines with surgical scissors, and the storage of souvenirs of these grisly procedures. The film will also note the deafening silence of the mainstream media which feared that coverage of the Gos-

by Gary CangemiThanks to a compliant me-

dia, the abortion industry has enjoyed varying degrees of suc-cess in suppressing news that portrays abortion for what it is...the premeditated murder of an innocent human being. One such story that received very little media coverage was the arrest, trial and conviction of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, the infamous operator of a West Philadelphia “House of Horrors” in which the survivors of botched abortions were systematically murdered by the doctor himself, using a pair of scissors on living infants out-side of the womb and outside the jurisdiction of the Roe v. Wade.

That conspiracy of silence will soon be breached when a

nell case would result in negative publicity for the abortion indus-try. A promotional piece for the film decries Gosnell as “Ameri-ca’s Biggest Serial Killer.”

Originally, the team of Irish film producers approached an-other crowd-funding web site, Kickstarter, which rejected the project. After the overwhelming success of the Gosnell movie project at Indiegogo, Kickstarter has since revised its requirements to make other such projects wel-come on its site, while denying any connection to the Gosnell project in making its decision, according to LifeSiteNews.com.

PHL will be receiving two complimentary copies of the Gosnell film on DVD for its video library.

Parenthood believes a woman should get free and paid for by someone else. Guess which group is on that list? The Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of Roman Catholic nuns who are dedicated to helping the elderly, sick and poor. These nuns take a vow of poverty and chastity. Obama’s administration wants to fine these ladies millions of dollars a year to force them to violate their strongly held religious beliefs. Never mind that there is not an employee on

record that has even vocalized an anger towards this decision or desire for free contraception.

Their case is a separate case from Hobby Lobby and has yet to be decided.

In all these cases, no one is trying to block access to any form of contraception. They continue to equate ‘free’ with ‘access.’ But, they have determined that lies such as those gets their rabid base more riled up than simply stating that women would still have

Hobby Lobby Case: The Fight for Religious Freedom! THE DECISION!Continued from Page 2

hour waiting periods, and bans on sex-selection abortions and tax-payer funding of abortions. These protective laws are supported by a majority of Americans in general and women in particular, accord-ing to public opinion polls.

Wolf’s campaign rhetoric and his quick embrace of NARAL’s endorsement demonstrate that his views on abortion are out of the mainstream. Rather than ad-vancing the cause of women, his radical stand would return Penn-sylvania to the dark days when women in the Commonwealth had few protections against the Kermit Gosnells of the world.

Continued from Page 1

Where Tom Wolf Stands on Abortion

C h a r i t y M o b i l e w i l l donate a portion of your cell phone costs to a charity of your choice. There are various plans with no strings attached. Visit www.prolifecatholic.com for more information. Select Pennsylvanians For Human Life, Scranton Chapter.

C e l l P h o n e C o m p a ny D o n a t e s To C h a r i t y

Pray to End AbortionWeekly pro-l ife prayer

vigils sponsored by the Catholics Defending Life Prayer Team are held every Thursday from 4:15 to 5:15 and Friday at 1:00 PM outside the offices of Planned Parenthood, 316 Penn Ave, Scranton. All are welcome to participate.

access, but will have to pay for desired contraception themselves at a cost of $4 to $30 a month, depending on their selection. And, many are available at the Left’s beloved institution Planned Parenthood for free!

The owner of Conestoga Wood Specialties, Norman Hahn, codefendants in the Hobby Lobby case sums up the decision: “We wholeheartedly affirm what the Supreme Court made clear today — that Americans don’t have to

surrender their freedom when they open a family business,” Hahn said. “All Americans, including family business owners, must be free to live and work according to their beliefs without fear of government punishment.”

According to the word of Saint John Paul II: “Above all, the common outcry, which is made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.”

Page 12 Pro-Life Reporter Summer 2014www.prolifescranton.org

25% off Shopping PassTuesday Oct 21 - 9 AM to 11 PM

Purchase in advance$5.00 for passes. Pick up at the Pro-Life Center - 506 Broadway or call 570-343-5099 and we will mail to you. Look for us in Boscov’s on

August 29 or September 19 for advance purchase of passes from 1:30 to 5:30. Also on October 21, the day of the event 1:30 to 5:30.

Contains over $13,400 in everyday savings! Great idea for gift giving! Ready for immediate use after purchase. Cost: $25. Call 343-5099 or pick up at 506 Broadway, Scranton, PA 18505 or order online at prolifescranton.org

Call 343-5099to order.

Entertainment Books Are Here!

Thought You’d Like To KnowMacy’s a t Viewmont Mall sponsors an event similar to Boscov’s Friends Helping Friends Day called “Shop For A Cause” Pennsylvanians For Human Life was initially invited to participate until management learned we are a pro-life organization. After being told we would not be allowed to sell their shopping passes in the store because we are too

controversial, they suggested we sell them on our own. We declined.However, it is interesting that Macy’s proudly offers the availability of their bridal registry online to same-sex couples, which can also be considered controversial. Does anyone see discrimination here?We report – you decide.

A T T E N T I O N – REDNER’S SHOPPERSRequest Redner’s Markets new Pump Perks Card which not only earns points for your gasoline purchases, but also automatically signs you up for the SAVE-A-TAPE program. Mail you register tapes to PA For Human Life which we can redeem for 1% of your purchases.

Charitable Grants or Trust FundsA charitable Grant or Trust

Fund is an ideal way to make an automatic gift to PHL on a quarterly or annual basis. Contact your financial advisor or institution for details. Designate Pennsylvanians for Human Life Education Fund for tax deductible donations.

Scranton Chapter Continues Visits to Representatives

PHL Members visit Rep. Lou Barletta. From left: Mary Ann Haas, Patrick Williams, Helen Gohsler, Rep. Barletta, Marie Brodowicz

PHL Members visit Rep. Tom Marino. From left: Anthony Pamelia, Helen Gohsler, Rep. Marino, Mary Ann Haas, Patrick Williams.

V O L U N T E E R T O D O L I G H T

H O U S E K E E P I N G O N C E A M O N T H

W A N T E D

T W O O F F I C E S W I V E L C H A I R S

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Dr. David Moylan meets with PHL Members. From left: Patrick Williams, Helen Gohsler, Dr. Moylan, Mary Ann Haas, Gary Cangemi, Anthony Pamelia.

Dr. Moylan Candidate for CongressD r . D a v i d M o y l a n ,

candidate for Congress in the 17th District met with members of Pennsylvanians for Human Life on July 29th at the pro-life center in Scranton. Helen Gohsler emphasized that Dr. Moylan believes the sanctity of human life is the most important issue. He said, “If you can’t get it right on life, how can you get anything right?” Doc Moylan wants to champion the pro-life cause and is running against Congressman Matt Cartwright who has a zero percent rating on pro-life issues in the most recent session of Congress according to National

PHL won an award for this float in the 1986 St. Patrick’s Parade.

Right to Life. Dr. Moylan is a physician, radiation oncologist, the founder of a cancer Center, author and assistant professor

at Hershey Medical Center. Dr. Moylan will debate Matt Cartwright on WVIA public TV on Oct. 29 at 7:00 pm.