Legislative Update

From Executive Director, Pamela Palumbo

March 19, 2008

Dear Ministry Friends:

Despite having to bear listening to unsupported and outright false statements by 'fake clients' from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), the lobbying arm for abortion providers including Planned Parenthood, and unsubstantiated claims by Planned Parenthood itself, we were optimistic and thankful for the opportunity to 'bear' witness to our Senators and Delegates regarding House Bill 1146 and Senate Bill 690.

On our own, we would never have chosen to spend all this time and energy fighting this political battle but would rather have spent our time meeting the needs of the women and men who walk through our doors. However, since we must stand for truth we were forced to fight this battle. We trust God and know He will use what our adversaries intend for evil and turn it to good in ways we could never imagine. Below are just a few highlights of the united force that came together in support of Pregnancy Centers:

5 former Pregnancy Center clients, who experienced real life crises, gave amazing testimonies, pure and true of their positive experiences with Pregnancy Centers as well heart wrenching stories of their abortions. We are grateful to them for their boldness in speaking the truth.

16 Pregnancy Centers testified about their service to clients and involvement in their communities.

47 witnesses laid out legal, medical and spiritual grounds for the crucial work of and need for Pregnancy Centers.

We are so thankful for your phone calls, letters, emails and most of all prayers. In response to one of your letters, a Delegate wrote,

"I want to thank you for your letter regarding HB 1146. This bill was heard in my committee last week. I was very troubled by the so called investigation by an opposition group and as a result of that undercover investigation and the tactics used to conduct that investigation; I question the validity of the outcome. These two organizations have always been opposed to each other's organizations. There must be an opportunity for our citizens to have a free choice in what facilities they choose. To force any private organization to distribute information that requires them to say they do not provide factual information is ludicrous."

The battle is not over, up until April 15th the House or Senate could choose to vote on these outrageous Bills. Please pray that our legislative representatives will see the absurdity of these allegations and choose to focus their attention on real issues of concern to our communities.

Pamela Palumbo
Executive Director

Here's how you can let YOUR VOICE be heard.

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