Texas Bill Against RU 486 Drug Gets Abby Johnson’s Testimony

by Steven Ertelt | Austin, TX | LifeNews.com | 4/26/11 11:15 AM

The former director of a Planned Parenthood abortion business who is now pro-life is in Austin, Texas at the state capital today to testify in favor of pro-life legislation that would limit the RU 486 abortion drug.

The mifepristone abortion pill has already killed more than 13 women worldwide, including several women in the United States, and has injured 1,100 women in the U.S. alone as of 2006 FDA figures. Johnson will testify today before the Texas Senate on behalf of legislation that would further regulate the dangerous drug and protect women’s health.

The measure, HB 3408 and SB 1780, was inspired by model legislation developed by Americans United for Life and sponsored by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg and Sen. Dan Patrick.

Charmaine Yoest, the AUL president, noted that abortion practitioners are increasingly expanding their market share of abortions through prescription drugs.

“Women and girls are vulnerable to dangerous drugs cavalierly distributed in ways that the drug manufacturers do not advise. This kind of off-label drug use can have deadly consequences,” she told LifeNews.com.

The bill before the Senate would regulate the dispensing of abortion inducing drugs and would require that they can only be dispensed in accordance with the FDA drug label. The bill would further require that a licensed physician must do a physical examination of the woman before prescribing the sometimes-deadly drugs.

Now a pro-life heroine, Abby Johnson will address the legislation both from her professional experience as a clinic operator in Bryan, Texas, and from her personal life story, having gone through an RU 486 abortion herself.

“It is a real privilege for us at AUL to partner with Abby Johnson and to have someone of her first-hand experience testify on behalf of this important legislation that will protect women and save lives in Texas,” said AUL Vice President for Government Affairs Dan McConchie. “Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers routinely dispense RU 486 off-label in a manner that expands their profits while undermining women’s health. It is important for the legislature to take action now to rein in these dangerous practices.”

Austin Pro-life OB-GYN Dr. Mikael Love will also be testifying regarding the medical standard of care and dangerous side effects of RU-486.

The bill has the support of Texas Alliance for Life, one of the statewide pro-life groups in Texas and the group says the measure would help stop “Planned Parenthood’s off-label use of this dangerous drug.”

Planned Parenthood previously told women using it to use the drug vaginally instead of orally, as recommended by the FDA. That causes the introduction of bacteria that resulted in lethal infections causing their deaths.

Although Planned Parenthood eventually changed its protocol to follow the FDA suggestion to take the drug orally, it still dispenses improper doses of the drug that could still place women at risk.

Rather than backing down from dispensing the abortion drug, Planned Parenthood is increasingly giving it to women, and a 2010survey of Planned Parenthood abortion centers finds a higher number are giving women the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug.

The number of locations dispensing the dangerous abortion drug has risen 130 percent since its last national survey, even though the overall number of Planned Parenthood centers is on the decline.

In January 2008, RU 486 maker Danco Laboratories announced approximately 13 percent of all abortions in the United States involve mifepristone — a number that may seem low but it is double the number of women who used the abortion drug in 2001.

The report also showed 57 percent of places that do abortions now have the abortion drug, compared with just 33 percent in 2001. Ultimately, Danco indicated that 840,000 women in the United States have had abortions with its dangerous drug – a number that is very likely over one million in the two and a half years that have passed.

According to FDA reports as of December 2006, there have now been eight known deaths associated with mifepristone in the U.S., nine life-threatening incidents, 116 blood transfusions, and 232 hospitalizations. In total, more than 1,100 women have had medical problems after using the drug as of that date. The Obama administration has not published new totals, which could have well over 1,500 women in the United States alone facing significant problems after using the mifepristone abortion drug.

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EXCLUSIVE: Young mother with cancer sacrifices life for unborn child
by John Jalsevac
Wed Apr 20, 2011 09:58 EST
April 20, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In August of last year Jessica Council – a beautiful, 30-year-old mother of one – noticed that she had a sore throat. At around the same time, she also began to suspect that she was pregnant.

When after two weeks the sore throat had not gone away, Jessica decided to have it checked out. Her doctor told her that it was probably a thyroid goiter, and ultimately nothing to be too concerned about. Just to be sure, however, he had a test done, which he said confirmed his initial suspicions. Everything would be ok, he said.

But everything was not ok. The doctor had misread the test.

Around November 15th, Jessica began having trouble breathing. On November 21st she landed in the emergency room. Then, on November 22nd, her throat closed up so tightly that she could not breathe, at which point doctors managed to insert a tube down her throat, and put her on a ventilator.

The following day, November 23rd, Jessica was informed that she had cancer. By then, she also knew for certain that she was with child.

Thus began a journey that would put the faith and pro-life convictions of Jessica and her husband, Clint, to the ultimate test.

“It was worth every day”

Jessica and Clint met at Greenville College School. In a lengthy interview with LifeSiteNews.com, Clint said that he had spotted the gorgeous redhead sitting one day in the university dining hall, and asked if he could join her. She refused. But Clint didn’t give up.

(Read the complete interview with Clint here)

In fact, it took Clint a year and a half of pestering before Jessica agreed to go on a date; the couple married two and a half years after that. “I guess when you know you know,” he said. “I had to work really hard for her, but it was worth every day.”

The pair moved to Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina, where they had a son and worked at a Christian charity as youth mentors. Life was good: they were young, in love, healthy, and enjoying life.

Clint points out that his wife always took meticulous care of herself. “She’s always been extremely, extremely healthy,” he said. “Watched what she ate very carefully. Tried to honor God with her body. Exercised regularly.”

For this reason, the last thing either of them expected was the cancer that struck last August.

No more options
Jessica Council

Clint describes his wife’s reaction to the news of the cancer in her throat as “a mixture of fear and surprise.” As for himself, he says he felt “just every emotion you can think of … except for joy. I was a basket case.”

But, of course, Jessica wasn’t the only one threatened by the cancer: she was pregnant, and any treatments she underwent would almost certainly harm, and possibly even kill her unborn child.

On November 25th, the hospital’s OB/GYN offered the couple an abortion. Clint says Jessica never hesitated. “That was never an option,” he said. “That is black and white.”

But what was less black and white was whether or not to accept treatments: while the oncologist said chemotherapy would likely kill the baby, the OB/GYN disagreed, saying the baby would probably survive, but suffer brain damage.

“Jessica looked at me, and it took her a few seconds,” says Clint, “and she shook her head ‘no.’” She also refused radiation therapy because of its similar risks.

“We really didn’t have a lot of treatment options after that,” said Clint, pointing out that surgery was never an option because of where the cancer was.

“She did not wake up”

The treatment question came up again when the baby reached the third trimester. At that point, says Clint, the decision was much more difficult, with the doctors claiming that the risks were minimal because the baby was almost fully developed.

However, Jessica still refused the treatments for the sake of her unborn child – a decision that Clint says left her doctors “very confused.”

Clint confides that neither he nor his wife felt doctors were being completely straightforward about the risks. But he also says that his wife had another reason for refusing the treatments.

“She knew she was going to die anyway,” he says. “She didn’t share that with me until almost when she died. … But I think she knew, and she was thinking she was going to give this baby every chance she could.”

Although the couple found some success with alternative methods to stem the cancer’s growth, including a strict diet of organic vegetable juices and supplements, without more aggressive treatments it was only a matter of time before the cancer got the upper hand.

A 23-week miracle

On the night of February 5, Jessica went to sleep with a headache and nausea. “She did not wake up,” says Clint.

The following day the hospital declared Jessica brain dead, and Clint gave the doctors the go-ahead to deliver by C-section. On February 6, little “Jessi” was born, weighing only 1 lb 3 oz.

Doctors had thought that Jessica was 25 weeks pregnant, but after they delivered the baby they realized that she was likely only about 23 and a half weeks along – the absolute threshold of viability.

“I can only testify to God’s grace on that, because Jessica died right when the baby was viable for life outside the womb,” says Clint. Doctors say baby Jessi is doing well.

“Emotionally brutal”

Clint describes the whole experience as “emotionally brutal,” and admits that despite his firm Christian and pro-life convictions, it was the farthest thing from easy to take the path that he and his wife did.

“Yes, I did struggle,” he says, “because in the Bible the one person that we’re commanded to love more than myself, this was her. I did struggle.”

“Sometimes it’s easier to be selfless as far as whatever happens to you,” he points out, “but when it comes down to losing the one you love more than anything else, it’s very difficult.”

It was also difficult for their two-and-a-half-year-old son. Clint recounts that after Jessica went into the hospital, his son was unable to see her for about a month, and during that time he wouldn’t even look at or speak to his father. But after he got to visit his mother, “he started doing better,” says Clint.

After Jessica’s death the boy suffered a period of acute “separation anxiety,” although his father says he has begun to adjust.

As for Clint himself, barely two months after his wife’s death, he says that he is operating on autopilot, staying busy with work and caring for his two children.

At this point he pauses. “I’m going to be very open,” he says, remarking that he wants to do whatever he can to help others who might be in a similar situation. “For about the first month, I could not – and I mean that as in a literal inability – I could not read my Bible, I could not pray.”

He describes the feeling as akin to that of a child being disciplined by a parent: “Even though I knew cognitively that the relationship was there, I knew [God] loved me, I accepted all these things from a mental standpoint. I felt nothing, spiritually.

“And it’s not about the feelings, but the delight in God was completely gone for about a month. I was functioning solely on what I knew to be true from a mental standpoint.”

Now, however, he says he has moved beyond that first stage, and has begun to pray again, including for other people.

Nevertheless, he says there will probably come a time when he will have to drop everything, and properly mourn the loss of his wife.

“God be praised”

Even though the weariness and the suffering is palpable in Clint’s voice, in speaking to him one detects something else as well – a deep resignation born not of despair, but of an authentic, rooted faith that accepts that this suffering was ultimately meaningful, and that there are worse tragedies even than death.

In a note penned less than two weeks after Jessica’s death, and posted to a blog about her struggle with cancer, Clint wrote the last words many would expect to hear from a man who has just lost a young wife whom he dearly loved.

“God is to be praised, my Friends,” he said. “Do not doubt God; do not be angry with Him for me.

“I am privileged to have had a Wife who was so full of the love of the Father. Rejoice with me, Brothers and Sisters. God has blessed Jessica in taking her to place of perfect peace and no pain. I must be thankful for the time that I had with her rather than ungrateful for all the things we never got to do together. We must give thanks in all things for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ.

“Grace and Peace to all.”

(Read the complete interview with Clint here)

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-young-mother-with-cancer-sacrifices-life-for-unborn-child

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What an amazing story to share with you on the final day of this spring’s 40 Days for life campaign. To add to this story, at the Jericho march today, we learned of three (3) more turn-a-rounds on Friday, making the total number of witnessed saves equal 19 during Pensacola’s 40 Days for Life spring campaign. Hallelujah! All Glory and honor to our most merciful Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!

This is an account from vigil participants on Saturday, April 16, 2011.
The highlight of the day came a little before 10:00 Saturday morning when a couple from St. Peter’s were praying. They had been joined by some youth from St. Anne’s (Bellview) and, I believe, one or two other people from that church. A lady drove up with an eleven-month-old baby and got out of her car. She told the people holding vigil that she had been a client at that abortion clinic nineteen months ago but had changed her mind, left with her unborn child, and had come back to say “Thank you.”

Actually the young couple, he’s 19, Zack, she’s 18, Terri, showed up with their baby, Caden. She was crying and had come to say thank you to the people who were in front of the abortion clinic, all of us, even though none of us were the ones she saw 19 months ago. She stressed the fact that because someone was there, she changed her mind. If no one was there, she would have gone in and had the abortion. They are so happy with little Caden and he is an adorable child, smiling the whole time. Thank God someone was there. It’s scary to think how close it came to losing that child. Fr. John Licari was there and blessed the baby and we all played with him. Wow! We have an amazing God! What an amazing 40 Days for Life! Thank you to everyone for their witness to LIFE!

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LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD! BEFORE YOU HAVE AN ABORTION, YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS!

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Charnette Messe, testifying in this video, is a Pensacola area resident, who SPEAKS THE TRUTH TO WOMEN!

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It was a typical Friday in Pensacola. Children were dieing at both abortion facilities. There were people praying in front of both places. LB, hadn’t planned to stop by and pray, but he felt like he should. He kept trying to speak to some young men, without any luck. He kept praying, then noticed a young couple parked across the street. He went over to speak with them. As LB spoke to the young couple he learned that the couple did not want to abort their child. They were having second thoughts. The young man said he was a “Christian” but he didn’t think he could afford this baby and abortion seemed to be the best option. He already had one child. He knew this was wrong but he didn’t know what to do. LB proceeded to tell the young couple about the resources we have available to help them, including adoption services. He then asked them to pray with him. They prayed, and LB walked back across the street. LB continued to pray. About ten minutes later the young couple drove away and did not return. We don’t know if they will be back next week, but we do know that the baby lives another day. The parent’s have another week to discern the right thing to do. And we as a community have another week to pray for this couple and this child, that his or her life will be spared. Thank you LB for being there! You could have “chosen” not to show up, but you did, and God was able to use you to witness to this young couple who most likely have chosen life! As we enter the final two weeks of the spring 40 Days for Life campaign. Let’s all give a little bit more. Particularly on Thursdays and Fridays, we need your presence. These are the days on average “FIFTY” children are “KILLED” on a “WEEKLY” basis and mothers and fathers are wounded forever. You can do something. You can pray for them and their families in front of both abortion facilities. You just might be that person that God uses to help save the life of a child.

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This is from Abby Johnson’s facebook post March 23, 2011:

Abby Johnson: Pro-life advocate
Today, I sidewalk counseled outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Spokane, Washington. The clinic workers were in a total frenzy. They are not used to someone speaking to clients and staff. The saddest part? They called in their “clergy for choice.” I attempted to speak to them as well. Please pray for these men and women who encourage women to abort their children in the name of Christ.

More information on Planned Parenthood and “Clergy for Choice” (pdf)
What “Clergy for Choice” believe

This is why it is so vitally important to have our “Clergy for Life” in front of abortion facilities throughout our nation. Planned Parenthood Clergy are certainly not ashamed to stand outside abortion facilities and convince men and women that it is alright to destroy their pre-born child.

Makes us recall the poem, “Sing A Little Louder” by Penny Lea:

I lived in Germany during the Nazi holocaust. I considered myself a Christian. I attended church since I was a small boy. We had heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews, but like most people today in this country, we tried to distance ourselves from the reality of what was really taking place. What could anyone do to stop it?

A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from a distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when one Sunday we noticed cries coming from the train as it passed by. We grimly realized that the train was carrying Jews. They were like cattle in those cars!

Week after week that train whistle would blow. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry out to us as they passed our church. It was so terribly disturbing! We could do nothing to help these poor miserable people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly at what time that whistle would blow, and we decided the only way to keep from being so disturbed by the cries was to start singing our hymns. By the time that train came rumbling past the church yard, we were singing at the top of our voices. If some of the screams reached our ears, we’d just sing a little louder until we could hear them no more. Years have passed and no one talks about it much anymore, but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. I can still hear them crying out for help. God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing to intervene.

Their screams tormented us . . . If some of their screams reached our ears we’d just sing a little louder.

Now, so many years later, I see it happening all over again in America. God forgive you as Americans for you have blocked out the screams of millions of your own children. The holocaust is here. The response is the same as it was in my country – SILENCE!”

Have you ever wondered HOW people could have stood by and let the holocaust just happen? Do you wonder why the Christians in this story chose to just sing their praise to God a little louder to drown out the victim’s cries?

The old man’s story is in the past. The past cannot be changed. It is easy to think we would act differently now. But the old man’s last words are haunting “It’s happening all over again in America with abortion. The Holocaust is here.”

As American Christians, we have become so comfortable in our lovely buildings and padded pews. We have beautiful fellowship halls for our many banquets. We have the latest sound equipment for our praise and worship. We have computers to keep our records. We gather together each week and shut ourselves inside our buildings. We raise our voices as loud as we can, all in the name of God.

And yet, in the heavenly realm, our voices raised in praise are drowned out by screams of agony from millions of babies who are being executed before they are born. We can’t see them. We can’t hear them. But it is happening right now!

Babies are being aborted UP UNTIL THE DAY OF BIRTH in this country. Their organs and brains are “harvested” for use in medical experimentation. In Wichita, Kansas, the smoke stack from the furnace of Dr. Tiller’s abortion clinic belches out black smoke and the sickening smell of burning flesh. These are the bodies of 7th, 8th and 9th month old babies being “disposed of”.

If the Christians in the old man’s church had done something, they would have probably been killed. That is not the case with us. We don’t even have that as an excuse for our silence.

Years from now will you be like that old man trying to explain your apathy as millions were led away to slaughter in abortion clinics? Or will you raise your voice and cry out in protest for those who have no voice! The choice is YOURS!

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