—Ronald Reagan
The President of West Virginians for Life is Wanda Franz, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Child Development and Family Studies at West Virginia University. She is also the past president of the National Right to Life Committee, a position she held for 20 years. The "President’s Corner" contains her letters and up-to-date commentary....
Teresa (Terri) Keatley, of Forest Hill, is married, has two children, four grandchildren, and is a retired elementary school teacher. As President of the WV For Life Summers County Chapter, and a WVFL state board member, she promotes Pro-Life values in policy & law, while educating Summers County citizens. Read more....
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The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the nation’s oldest and largest pro-life organization, joins with pro-lifers across the country and around the world in mourning the death of former National Right to Life President Dr. John C. (Jack) Willke, an obstetrician who devoted his life to the right-to-life movement. Dr. Willke died at his home in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Friday. He was 89.
“There is no way to quantify the contributions Jack Willke, along with his wife Barbara, made to the right-to-life movement,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.”Jack’s generous heart and wonderful sense of humor will be greatly missed. He and Barbara devoted their lives to the right-to-life movement, and we will be forever in their debt.”
In the early days of the right-to-life movement, Jack and Barbara Willke helped form the foundation of right-to-life educational efforts through the development of the “Willke slides” on fetal development and abortion, and their first book, “The Handbook on Abortion,” which sold an estimated 1.5 million copies. Both were considered must-haves for local activists.
“Every pro-lifer relied on the ‘Willke slides’ on fetal development that beautifully depicted the development of the unborn child as well as the brutal reality of abortion,” Tobias said.
The Willkes crisscrossed the nation for four decades speaking out on behalf of society’s most defenseless members. They inspired some of the earliest state and local right-to-life groups combatting abortion before the Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. The Willkes co-founded Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati in the early 1970s.
In September 1973, Dr. Willke joined the National Right to Life board of directors representing his home state of Ohio, and served continuously until his retirement in 2012. He served in a variety of capacities throughout the 1970s, including terms as vice-chairman of the board and vice president. He was elected president of National Right to Life (1980-1983 and 1984-1991), serving a total of ten years. During his tenure, he helped raise the profile of the organization through countless radio and television appearances, and trips across the country and around the world as an ambassador for the right-to-life movement.
To expand National Right to Life’s efforts to educate the nation, on January 7, 1985, Dr. Willke premiered Pro-Life Perspective, National Right to Life’s daily radio program. The show, now in its 30th year and hosted by National Right to Life president Carol Tobias, has served as an educational resource for countless millions of Americans concerned about the right-to-life issues.
In 1990, Dr. Willke helped lead National Right to Life’s response to the late Congressman Henry J. Hyde’s request that the pro-life movement come to Washington to “stand and be counted.” That response was the “Rally for Life 1990,” which remains one of the largest gatherings ever to be held on the National Mall.
In addition to his work locally and nationally, Dr. Willke expanded right-to-life efforts with the formation of the International Right to Life Federation, which brought together pro-life organizations operating in countries around the world. He was president emeritus of the organization at the time of his death.
In 1991, he founded the Cincinnati-based Life Issues Institute, and through the organization, continued his passion to educate the nation and the world about the tragic realities of abortion and euthanasia.
Together, Jack and Barbara Willke co-authored twelve books on human sexuality and abortion. They created audio and visual pro-life educational materials used throughout the world, and those materials have been translated into 30 languages on five continents. They jointly spoke in 64 different countries. For their selfless dedication and innumerous contributions to the pro-life cause, in June 2014, National Right to Life presented its inaugural “Henry J. Hyde Award for Lifetime Achievement” to Dr. Willke, and posthumously to his beloved wife, Barbara (who died in April 2013).
“The right-to-life movement has lost one of its most influential activists,” Tobias added. “But we know that Dr. Willke’s legacy of education and activism will live on in the countless men and women who were inspired to join the fight for life because of his efforts.”
National Right to Life file photos of Dr. Willke are available for media use with credit to National Right to Life at www.nrlc.org/jcw.
Get the full story in the phenomenal book In Lieu of Flowers, God Gave Us a Miracle: The True-Life Story Of Zach Sandy, available on Amazon.com and AuthorStock.com
Pictured is HB 2568 cosponsor Saira Blair giving a well reasoned floor speech. She said she was thankful her parents chose life for her and so are we.
The West Virginia legislature took a huge step forward today as the House of Delegates voted 87-12 to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, H.B. 2568, a bill fully supported by West Virginians for Life (WVFL). The bi-partisan bill passed with two-thirds of the Democrats voting for it.
When the morning session convened, the House galleries were packed with pro-life supporters who had come to the Charleston Capitol for Annual Pro-Life Rally Day. After introductions from several delegates of their pro-life constituents, House Speaker Tim Armstead got down to business.
For roughly 2½ hours delegates either spoke for or against the bill.
Lead sponsor Delegate Kelli Sobonya ended her floor speech with a familiar “Choose life…” scripture from Deuteronomy. Cosponsor Delegate Jeff Eldridge tearfully thanked his wife for choosing life for his children and newcomer Delegate Saira Blair, herself a teenager at 18 and a bill cosponsor, pointed out that the majority of women in that chamber supported the bill after a pro-abortion female delegate previously stated that she was speaking for the majority of women in West Virginia and in the country. Support from women delegates turned out to be 17 of 19.
West Virginians for Life now turns to the Senate as the bill will head to the Senate Health Committee and then to Judiciary.
WVFL President Dr. Wanda Franz said, “Since scientific evidence shows that babies suffer pain from beginning at least by 20 weeks gestation, we believe West Virginians would want to protect babies from the pain of abortion. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would provide that protection.”
Franz emceed the rally after the vote and the couple hundred supporters who stayed enjoyed every minute from the invocation given by Bishop Michael Bransfield to the teen essays read by the essay contest winners to the remarks by pro-life lawmakers at the microphone to the final strains of Frank Tettenburn’s “God Bless America.”
WVFL Legislative Coordinator John Carey said, “Ten states have already passed this legislation. It has not been found to be unconstitutional. I am confident the Senate will do the right thing.”
Note: the following update from Carol Tobias, National Right to Life President, was sent out via email, Friday, January 23, 2015:
Yesterday, the 42nd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, was a day of mixed emotions, a great high and a deep disappointment.
Marches, rallies, and memorial services were held across the nation to remember the 57 million unborn children who have been lost to abortion, along with prayers, thoughts, and concern for the mothers of those children. In the nation’s capital alone, the numbers were surely in the hundreds of thousands.
Yesterday was a day of joy as we celebrated the gift of LIFE. We rejoice as we see so many young people getting involved and taking a stand for life; saying they will be a voice for the voiceless; and promising they will not let this battle end.
Yesterday was also the day we were expecting the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Unfortunately, a small number of members of the House reneged on previous commitments and launched a campaign that sidetracked the bill, for now.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act was a major priority for NRLC. We are pleased the House passed that bill.
If you watch House proceedings on C-SPAN, you may not notice that members use electronic voting cards to cast their vote for or against a measure. In a National Journal article about the “dispute” over the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a reporter related this quote from an unnamed congresswoman who had helped sidetrack the bill: “I think the leadership genuinely feels bad about this… I hope that that will translate into listening to people who have voting cards instead of listening to people who don’t have voting cards.”
This congresswoman hopes that House leadership will listen to her and other members of Congress, not the voters who put them all there.
One of the most famous speeches in American history was President Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. Lincoln memorably concluded that our government was “of the people, by the people, for the people.” I wish I knew who this congresswoman was so I could send her a copy of the speech.
Another surprising aspect was the claim by Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) – who gave numerous media interviews attacking the bill — that passing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act could hurt the Republican Party with millennials (i.e., persons age 18 to 29 or so) – a claim that some journalists apparently found plausible and amplified.
Yet a November 2014 Quinnipiac University Poll asked:
“As you may know, in 2013 the House of Representatives approved legislation that would ban virtually all abortions nationwide after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape and incest that are reported to authorities. Would you support or oppose such legislation?”
Sixty percent of all respondents supported the legislation, compared to 33% opposed. Among those ages 18-29, there was 57% support for the legislation, with 38% opposed. In what other poll would a 19% advantage be considered a disadvantage?
This incident reminds us that politics is a messy business. But it’s also a necessary one if we are going to protect unborn babies. We remember what happened, we hold elected officials accountable, and we keep on keeping on.
I urge you to contact your representative in Congress– let them know you are disappointed in what happened, and ask that they vote to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
Sincerely,
Carol Tobias,
National Right to Life President
Posted in Culture War, Legislation, Nationwide ProLife News, Politics, Statewide WVFL News
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Currently, each year many thousands of late-term babies, many of whom are viable (can survive outside the womb) are aborted — without anesthesia — and it is now known that they suffer excruciating pain as their little bodies are ripped apart, limb from limb. On Thursday, January 22, 2015 (the anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade/Doe v. Bolton decision by the US Supreme Court in 1973, which overturned existing laws regulating abortion and legalized abortion even up to the time of birth without regulation), Pro-Life legislators in both Washington, DC and in Charleston, WV plan to reintroduce the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would stop abortions on preborn babies after 20 weeks, when those babies are known through medical science to feel pain.
Regarding DC’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act: The bill is anticipated to pass both houses. President Obama has indicated he will veto this bill. Please contact your congressman and senators and urge an override of such a veto!
Regarding WV’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act: Wanda Franz, President of West Virginians For Life, sent the following update on Wednesday, January 21:
Dear Friends,
John Carey, Karen Cross, and I have been to Charleston, and we are working closely with the leadership to write a bill that improves on the older version and which will be certain of passing. Other bills can be introduced, including the one that Dave Perry introduced on January 20. He has introduced last year’s version of the bill. It is not a bad bill and we appreciate the pro-life commitment of the sponsors. However, West Virginians for Life will be working to pass this year’s updated version of the bill. We will let you know as soon as it has sponsors and a bill number.
Wanda Franz,
President
As you may remember, last year West Virginia became the first and only state with a Democrat-controlled legislature to pass a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (similar acts are now law in several other states, but they were all passed by Republican-controlled legislatures), however, after it was passed with overwhelming support (near the end of the session), WV Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, who claimed to be Pro-Life, vetoed the bill. (He delayed until after the session ended to do so, effectively preventing any chance for an override unless a special session was called.) Now that both the WV House of Delegates and the WV Senate are under newly elected leadership majorities, the bill is expected to pass in a manner of timing that would allow an override if the Governor should attempt another veto. We encourage you to contact your representatives in the WV House of Delegates and in the WV Senate and urge them to support the bill, and to override any veto!
“The US House approved legislation that will put in place a complete ban on taxpayer funding of abortions that ensures abortions are not directly funded in any federal governmental program or department. The legislation combines several policies that must be enacted every year in Congressional battles and puts them into law where they will not be in jeopardy of being overturned every time Congress changes hands from pro-life lawmakers to those who support abortions. The House voted 242-179 for the bill with 239 Republicans and three Democrats voting to ban taxpayer funding of abortions under HR7 while 178 Democrats and one Republican voted against it.” [See the ROLL CALL at the end of the LifeNew.com story.]
Posted in County-wide WVFL News, Culture War, Legal-Courts, Legislation, Nationwide ProLife News, Politics, Statewide WVFL News
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Posted in County-wide WVFL News, Culture War, Legal-Courts, Legislation, Nationwide ProLife News, Politics, Statewide WVFL News
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