Category Archives: Press Release

Historic Night in WV as Amendment 1 Passes and Successful Endorsements Allow for Biggest Pro-Life Gains Yet

Amendment 1 historically passed statewide with 5,878 voters making the difference. Legislative Coordinator for the WV Alliance for Ethical Health Care, Mary H. Tillman, JD, said, “The WV Alliance for Ethical Health Care, West Virginians for Life, and organizations that advocate for the rights of persons living with disabilities celebrate the successful passage of Amendment 1. Following the strong example of our legislators who voted by overwhelming majorities, the voters of WV have now also shown their belief that all lives in our beautiful state, regardless of age or ability, will be respected and protected from the dangers of medically-assisted suicide. West Virginia becomes the first state in the United States of America to proactively protect all its citizens and health care institutions from the dangerous trend of assisted suicide by a state constitutional amendment.”

Of the 113 races in which the West Virginians for Life PAC (WVL-PAC) endorsed candidates, a 95% success rate has been realized. West Virginia, not surprisingly, gave all four of its electoral votes to Donald Trump on November 5. WVFL President Wanda Franz, Ph.D., said, “West Virginia is a national leader in its support for the conservative pro-life values of former President Donald J. Trump, who represents the values of WV families.”

With 69% of the vote, Jim Justice won the US Senate seat left open by Joe Manchin’s departure. First District Congressional incumbent Carol Miller retained her seat for a third term. In the Second Congressional District, Riley Moore defeated his opponent by a margin of 71%-29%. This completed a pro-life sweep of the entire slate of federal candidates.

The WVL-PAC enjoyed wins in all six statewide races. Patrick Morrisey won the governorship with 69% of the vote. JB McCuskey will be the new Attorney General ensuring that pro-life legislation will be defended if challenged. Kris Warner easily won the Secretary of State seat. Mark Hunt will be the State Auditor. Kent Leonhardt will remain Agriculture Commissioner.

Of the 16 Senate races in which endorsements were made, 15 were winners. Thirty-three of 34 senators will be supporting pro-life policies.

WVL-PAC can report only five losses in the endorsed State House races. With a net gain of +6 pro-life seats, 87 of the 100 members of the State House will be pro-life as the next legislative session begins in February 2025.

In conclusion, Wanda Franz, Ph.D., WVL-PAC president, said: “West Virginians for Life is proud of its overwhelming success in supporting pro-life legislators and we look forward to working with them in the upcoming session.”

West Virginians for Life, the state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee, is the state’s largest pro-life group with more than 30 local pro-life chapters. West Virginians for Life works through education, legislation, and political action to protect those threatened by abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and assisted suicide.

West Virginia House Passes Pro-Life Bill Saving Babies From Abortion

By MARY ANNE BUCHANAN

The Second Chances at Life Act (HB 2982/SB 609) successfully passed in the West Virginia House of Delegates today by a bipartisan 83-15 vote. Passage followed a 19-5 vote in the House Health Committee on March 16 and a 22-3 vote in the House Judiciary Committee on March 18.

The Second Chances at Life Act next moves to the Senate Health Committee.

West Virginia is well on the way to becoming the 11th state to have this law in place. The other ten states are Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Arizona whose original law was repealed and replaced with weaker language.

Sponsored by Delegate Kayla Kessinger, the bill will require that a woman be informed that the effects of the chemical abortion pill can be reversed to save her baby, if she changes her mind after taking it. House cosponsors include Delegates Trent Barnhart, Jordan Bridges, Adam Burkhammer, Josh Holstein, Laura Kimble, Todd Longanacre, Margitta Mazzocchi, Jeff Pack, Jonathan Pinson, and Terri Sypolt.

HELP WV FOR LIFE SAVE BABIES FROM ABORTION! Please help WV For Life with a donation!

“West Virginians for Life thanks those Delegates who voted for the bill in support of women seeking abortions by providing them with additional information so they can make a truly informed decision,” stated WVFL President, Dr. Wanda Franz, Ph.D.

Contrary to critics, the bill does not tell physicians how to practice medicine, or place obstacles on women seeking abortions. But it does save babies: To date over 2,000 babies have been saved nationwide by the Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) protocol.

The American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a 2,500-member OB-GYN medical group, supports knowledgeable health care providers offering the Abortion Pill Reversal protocol to women who regret initiating the abortion pill process.

The APR involves use of progesterone to reverse the effects of the Mifepristone. Progesterone is a natural element in the woman’s body required to retain her pregnancy. As such, it does no damage to the baby. It has been used for 50 years in infertility clinics to help women retain their pregnancies.

In West Virginia, chemical abortions account for more than 40% of abortions.

A woman or girl wanting to save her baby once the chemical abortion process has started should contact a health care professional at abortionpillreversal.com or call 877-558-0333.

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Also, many thanks to the following sites for sharing the 2nd Chances at Life Act Update:

National Right To Life News Today

LifeNews.com

WVFL Calls Out Poll Bias

West Virginians for Life today released a response to the WV Free press release which made claims that WVFL finds hard to believe. In the words of WVFL President Dr. Wanda Franz, “Given their history of misrepresenting the issue of abortion, it is difficult to take the results of the WV Free poll seriously without seeing the details of the questions asked plus the size and diversity of those sampled.”

Read the WVFL press release in its entirety here.

Read more of the latest WV For Life email blast here.

Subscribe to the WV For Life email list here.

Letter to the Editor – Vote YES on Amendment 1

The following Letter to the Editor was submitted to, and accepted by, the Charleston Daily Mail. The editor responded saying they will publish the letter, and even better, that the paper will endorse a “YES” on Amendment 1, using the letter’s explanation as to why. The author, Mary Tillman, serves on the state board of West Virginians for Life and is an officer in the WV For Life – Harrison County Chapter. For more information and helpful resources, visit http://yeson1wv.com.

October 5, 2018

Letters to the Editor have been appearing in newspapers around the State, making extreme claims about what the effect of Amendment 1 will be if passed.

It’s time to get the facts. The most common claim is that Amendment 1 will “make abortion illegal in West Virginia.” FALSE. Abortion is legal in West Virginia NOT because of our state Constitution, but because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision (Roe v. Wade, 1973) that decided there was a so-called “right” to abortion under the Federal, or U.S. Constitution. We cannot change that by amending our state Constitution.

Secondly, the claim is made that “women will die” if Amendment 1 passes, because (they say) there are “no exceptions for rape, incest or to save the life of the woman.” FALSE. It is true that the language in the Amendment itself does not spell out those particular exceptions, but if passed, a previous WV law, still on the books, will come back into force. That law, found at WV Code Section 9-2-11, allows for taxpayer funding of abortions in cases of medical emergency, reported rape and incest, fetal anomaly, and threats to the life of the mother.

Finally, the claim is made that the “state has no business in the exam room or the bedroom.” To that I would say, the state then has no business in my wallet to pay for something that I, and millions of others in this country, believe is the taking of innocent human life. The U.S. Supreme Court itself decided in Harris v. McRae (1980) that states are not required to pay for abortions using tax dollars, and only 17 states in the United States still do so. Let’s join the majority of the country and get out of the business of paying for elective abortions. Vote “YES” on Amendment 1.

Mary H. Tillman, J.D.
Lost Creek, WV

WVFL Press Release re: Two Pro-Life Bills Signed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2017

For more information contact:
Karen Cross, WVFL Legis. Coordinator (202) 200-1973
Wanda Franz, Ph.D., WVFL President (304) 599-0768

WEST VIRGINIA GOVERNOR JUSTICE SIGNS TWO PRO-LIFE BILLS

West Virginia becomes the 31st state to enact a meaningful Parent’s Right to Know Act. HB 2002, was successfully amended in the Senate and passed on the last day of the session by a 28-6 vote. The House concurred a few hours later by a vote of 82-17. The bill closes a loophole in the 1984 law that allowed for a second doctor to okay a minor girl’s abortion without her parent’s knowledge. The bill still allows for a judicial bypass in abusive situations. Governor Jim Justice approved the bill on April 26.

“We are pleased that the governor agreed with the huge bipartisan majority that parents have a right to know when their minor daughter is having an abortion, an invasive surgical procedure,” said Karen Cross, West Virginians for Life Legislative Coordinator. She continued, “Children don’t understand the long-term emotional, psychological, and physical consequences of making this major life-changing decision.”

Many of these laws have been in effect for decades and have been upheld in the courts. As the Supreme Court has observed, “[t]he medical, emotional, and psychological consequences of an abortion are serious and can be lasting; this is particularly so when the patient is immature.” [H.L. v. Matheson, 450 U.S. 398, 411 (1981).]

Additionally, the Telemedicine Bill, HB 2509, was signed by the governor on the same day after having passed unanimously in the Senate on Tuesday, April 4, and in the House on March 6. The House vote to concur three days later was nearly unanimous.

HB 2509 permits a physician to prescribe certain controlled substances when using telemedicine technologies. Because the Telemedicine Bill would have expanded abortion throughout the state, it was amended in the Senate to prevent long-distance prescription of drugs for the purpose of causing abortion. According to news stories, abortion proponents made it clear that they wanted to use the bill as a means of expanding abortion in West Virginia.

“Because it is irresponsible to prescribe chemicals long-distance for women to abort without medical supervision, West Virginians for Life (WVFL) is elated the bill passed as amended.” said WVFL President Wanda Franz. “These women need the presence of a doctor because chemical abortions trigger an especially intense experience of child birth, which can include severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea with high amounts of bleeding. Women have been traumatized by the experience of delivering their own dead baby. Deaths have occurred world-wide from severe infections, which may be due to suppression of the immune system by the chemicals used in the abortion.”

Both bills will take effect 90 days from passage.

Press Release

For immediate release:
March 6, 2017

For More Information:
Karen Cross, Legislative Coordinator 202-200-1973
Mary Anne Buchanan, Comm. Dir. 304-216-6573

 

PRO-LIFE LEADERS CARMICHAEL AND ARMSTEAD TO ADDRESS PRO-LIFE RALLY CROWD 

Supporters of West Virginians for Life (WVFL) will gather at the Capitol on Monday, March 13, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for annual Pro-Life Rally Day with the main event, a rally, at noon.

West Virginians for Life is pleased to announce that Senate President Mitch Carmichael and House Speaker Tim Armstead will address the crowd as well as Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Secretary of State Mac Warner. National Right to Life Political Director/WVFL Legislative Coordinator Karen Cross will speak as well as WVFL President Wanda Franz, Ph.D. Pro-life legislators will be introduced and petitions presented during the rally. Additionally, the winners of the Teen Essay Contest will read their winning entries. Other highlights include special music from the Re:Claim Worship Team, singer Frank Tettenburn, and the annual Prayer Processional with walkers carrying crosses.

West Virginians for Life is working to pass HB 2002/SB 424, the Parents Right to Know Act, which would close loopholes in existing state law that allow abortionists to perform secret abortions on underage girls. These loopholes not only interfere with the rights of parents, they put girls in abusive situations at greater risk.

“Parental involvement laws have been incredibly successful in 30 states across the nation.  These laws have not only reduced adolescent abortion rates in the given states from 13 to 19 percent but have also reduced adolescent pregnancy rates,” said WVFL President Dr. Wanda Franz. Furthermore, she said, “They also eliminate the risk for the numerous health problems that are known to follow abortion, especially in teens.”

 

West Virginians for Life, the state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee, is the state’s largest pro-life group with more than 30 local chapters. West Virginians for Life works through legislation, education and political action to protect those threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia.

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