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(Live Action) The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last week that human embryos created via IVF are to be considered children protected by law under the state’s wrongful death act and the Alabama Constitution.

The case, LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, Inc. originated when the frozen embryos of several couples stored at The Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center were destroyed after a client was somehow able to access the facility and handle the embryos, resulting in their destruction.

In their lawsuit, the couples argued that the embryos should be considered people under the state’s wrongful death statute. A lower court ruled that the embryos were not human beings; the Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision overturned that ruling.

The court also upheld that the Alabama Constitution’s Sanctity of Life Amendment, which was ratified in 2018, required the court to rule in favor of the preborn. The amendment states that it is “the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life.”

“Unborn children are ‘children’ under the Act, without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” said Justice James “Jay” Mitchell, writing for the court.

“[T]he Wrongful Death of a Minor Act is sweeping and unqualified. It applies to all children, born and unborn, without limitation. It is not the role of this Court to craft a new limitation based on our own view of what is or is not wise public policy. That is especially true where, as here, the People of this State have adopted a Constitutional amendment directly aimed at stopping courts from excluding ‘unborn life’ from legal protection,” Mitchell further wrote.

The court noted that there is no unwritten exception to the law and that it applies to all children, including, to “unborn children who are not physically located ‘in utero’ — that is, inside a biological uterus — at the time they are killed.”

Live Action founder and president Lila Rose responded to the ruling in a statement, saying, “This decision made by the Alabama Supreme Court affirms the scientific reality that a new human life begins at the moment of fertilization. Each person, from the tiniest embryo to an elder nearing the end of his life, has incalculable value that deserves and is guaranteed legal protection. This ruling, which involved a wrongful-death claim brought by parents against a fertility clinic that negligently caused the death of their children, rightly acknowledged the humanity of unborn children created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and is an important step towards applying equal protection for all.”

The term “embryo” denotes a stage in human development, much the same as the words infant, toddler, or teenager. The preborn child is a human being with its own distinct DNA from the moment of conception — even when it’s as small as an embryo. The case underscores one of the most significant problems with IVF, as countless embryonic preborn children are created and then discarded when they are deemed unfit or unwanted.

In 2022,  Alabama Legislature passed a resolution that January 22 should be recognized as the Day of Tears in Alabama.   This calls for private citizens in Alabama to lower their flags on January 22, in honor and remembrance of the over 65 million innocents who have lost their lives to abortion since 1973.  Please join us for this display of remembrance of all the innocent blood that has been shed since 1973.

NOT Satire- Former Tuscaloosa abortionist now concerned over declining prenatal care in Alabama?

Former (only because abortion is now illegal in Alabama) Tuscaloosa abortionist, Leah Torres was recently interviewed by ABC 33/40 on the slight increase in infant mortality rates in the US, even as Alabama saw a decrease. Also discussed was the closing of two Central Alabama hospital’s OB programs.
The interview is ironically titled, “OBGYN stresses importance of access to maternal care as infant mortality rate increases nationwide” It’s hard to imagine that out of all the OBGYNs in Central Alabama ABC 33/40 could not find anyone other than a former abortionist to interview about infant mortality and declining prenatal care.

ABC 33/40 describing of Dr. Torres, “In her role as an OBGYN, prenatal care is of the upmost importance. Dr. Torres described the the many benefits prenatal care can have on the lives of infant and the mother.” 

Absolutely.   Prenatal care is a great option…instead of killing the child by abortion.  

Apparently now that she can’t make a living killing children, she wants to somehow become their advocate?

It’s important to point out that according to the CDC, Alabama saw 439 infant deaths in 2021. The number decreased to 389 in 2022.   So maybe Alabama is doing something right, on top of stopping the killing of over 6000 unborn children each year.

Prolife Tuscaloosa would like to point out that there are MANY ways for pregnant women to get free or low cost prenatal help.   Click here for a list of prenatal help – because the list of available options is too long to write out here.    All a pregnant woman in need has to do is ask for help, many people are willing & ready to help.

We must remember, Dr. Leah Torres is only a “former abortionist” because abortion is now illegal in Alabama. There are some very interesting comments coming from a woman who made killing babies a professional priority for much of her career. Read it (or listen) for yourself. “I know that we can do better, we have to do better,” said Torres.

We agree, and it starts with a change of heart and a love of LIFE.

As we end 2023 & look forward to 2024, have you thought about the state of abortion in our nation lately? Even though abortion is now illegal in Alabama, Alabama women are still having unplanned pregnancies. Have you thought about who is helping the pregnant women in need? There are several local ways to get involved and each organization could use your help. 

1. Get your church involved through LoveLife. LoveLife works to help churches become “Houses of Refuge” where pregnant women can receive help in their time of need, both physical & spiritual. 
Contact Shaylene for more information at shaylene@lovelife.org.

2. Another way to get involved is by helping on the Ultrasound Bus.   Currently, the bus is in Tuscaloosa on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week. They would like to add additional days, but cannot until more volunteers step up to to help. Do you have 4 hours to spare each week to help?

3. Tuscaloosa’s crisis pregnancy center, New Day Women’s Center, has various needs where you can help. Contact them to see where you can plug in.

Remember, it wasn’t long ago that Tuscaloosa was Alabama’s abortion leader. 

Don’t forget the over 85,000 children who were murdered here.

(1819 News) A bill criminalizing abortion as murder and offering “equal protection for the unborn” was filed in the Alabama House of Representatives.

House Bill 454 (HB454), also called the Equal Protection Act, is sponsored by State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity). The bill seeks to outlaw abortion as murder and provide “equal protection of the law for preborn children, ensuring the lives of those in the womb are equally valued as those outside the womb.”

The bill filed Tuesday currently has four House co-sponsors: Ben Harrison (R-Elkmont), Mack Butler (R-Rainbow City), Mark Gidley (R-Gadsden) and Ritchie Whorton (R-Owens Cross Roads).

“The majority of Alabamians agree that abortion is murder. It’s time our laws reflect that,” stated Rep. Ernie Yarbrough. “Perhaps the most important duty of a legislator is to provide justice for the citizens of our state, and that’s what this bill attempts to accomplish.”

End Abortion Alabama (EAA) is an Alabama-based abortion abolitionist group that supports the bill.

“Contrary to popular belief, self-managed (DIY) abortions remain legal in Alabama due to a pro-abortion loophole in state law,” said Paul Abbott II, an EAA activist. “The Equal Protection Act repeals that loophole and truly treats babies in the womb as fully human.”

Maegan Pierce, also with EAA, praised the bill for recognizing all human life as deserving of protection. 

“The Equal Protection Act recognizes that all human life, including preborn life, is created in the image of God and must be protected from fertilization by the same laws that protect born people,” Pierce said.

If passed, the Equal Protection Act would do the following:

• Define abortion as murder, providing equal protection of the laws for children in utero.
• Make it a crime for anyone to force or coerce a mother into getting an abortion.
• Protects access to life-saving medical care while clarifying that the mother and preborn child are equally valuable under the law.

The bill was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, where it must pass before making it to the floor for a vote.

In Vogue, Emma Specter wrote about the experiences of five women who had chemical abortions.   In four out of the five stories featured, the experience was described as painful and horrifying.

Mia noted, “I was amply prepared for the bleeding, but not for the pain—I eventually woke them up to help me set up a heating pad and procure enough edibles to tranquilize a bear. Both of those helped a lot, but I still spent a few hours in enough pain to be incoherent.”

Jen’s experience of pain was just as intense, but not as lengthy, and she was surprised by it. “I went to sleep and woke up to barely having bled in my diaper, which I brushed off. I went to work like nothing at all, but was suddenly hit with a wall of pain at around 10 a.m.,” she said.

Claire recalled, again, “intense” pain for which she wasn’t prepared. “I spent the whole first day at Planned Parenthood, in and out of the waiting room. I was given the first of the two-pill cocktail in the Planned Parenthood office and then was sent home to take the second pill the following day,” she said. “When I took the second pill, my body didn’t like it. I started cramping so intensely, and each time I went to the toilet, little gloops of blood clots and tissue swirled into the toilet. It was honestly surreal. I kept cramping and got sicker, and I ended up throwing up a lot. But by the end of the night (I started at maybe 4 p.m.) my body was returning to normal—still cramping, but more at ease. … The abortion pill can be very painful, and I feel I wasn’t properly warned about how sick I could get. I thought I could just chill out and cramp it out, but it wasn’t like that at all.

Alina noted that she was left with essentially no resources during her abortion. “I was lucky to have a supportive partner who was able to take care of me, but truthfully, it was a difficult and painful experience in a lot of ways — until the next morning, when I was just tired,” she recalled. “I went through Planned Parenthood, they also gave me a phone number to call if I experienced any worrisome complications, and then it turned out that number wasn’t connected.”

Unfortunately, the pain these women experienced could have been worse. One study found the abortion pill to be four times more dangerous than first trimester surgical abortion. Aside from pain, more serious complications include uterine hemorrhaging, viral infections, sepsis, vaginitis, and even death.*

Adapted from “Vogue features horrifying stories of chemical abortions: ‘I wasn’t properly warned’” by Live Action

(LifeNews) An Alabama facility is struggling to stay open after the state banned killing unborn babies in abortions last year.

The Alabama Reflector reports the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa has continued to provide non-abortion services to women since the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling in June, but its staff admitted this month that it is struggling financially.

Robin Marty, operations director for the former abortion facility, said they have been fundraising to stay open and received almost $200,000 in donations since last year. But donations are down, and Marty said they probably will have to close in June.

“Individual donations dried up, which makes sense,” Marty told the news outlet. “I mean, everybody’s exhausted. Everybody’s asking for money.”

The former abortion facility is providing contraception, prenatal care, exams, miscarriage and “gender affirming” health care. Its website also refers women to abortion facilities and abortion groups that help pay for abortion travel and lodging.

But aborting unborn babies apparently was its biggest money-maker, and that life-destroying practice is illegal now in Alabama. Abortion is a billion-dollar industry. Planned Parenthood alone reported a record $1.7 billion in income while aborting more than 383,460 unborn babies in 2020, an all-time high.

Now, the abortion industry is hurting. Since the Dobbs decision in June, 14 states now protect unborn babies by banning abortions and more are fighting in court to do the same. Pro-life leaders believe these laws already have saved tens of thousands of unborn babies’ lives.

For nearly 50 years under Roe v. Wade, abortions destroyed more than 64 million unborn babies in abortions. Only now that Roe has been overturned may states again protect the right to life for all human beings, born and unborn.

Two new polls show growing public support for legal protections for unborn babies. A Marist College poll found 69 percent of Americans support limiting or banning abortions, up from 62 percent in June. Another new poll from UMass Amherst found a 5-percent drop in those who say Congress should pass a law to make abortions legal nation-wide and a 6-percent increase in support for a national abortion ban, WCVB News reports.

Meanwhile, pro-life advocates and state lawmakers are ramping up efforts to help pregnant and parenting families, including expanding Medicaid and support for pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes, creating tax credits for unborn babies and more.

Recently, the 2020 & 2021 Alabama abortion statistics were released. These tables show how many babies West Alabama Women’s Center killed in those years.

In 2020, West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa continued killing the most babies by performing 45% of abortions in Alabama.  41% were surgical and 58% were medication abortions (also known as the “abortion pill”).

In 2021, West Alabama Women’s Center lost it’s title as Alabama’s abortion leader when Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives in Huntsville surpassed them by performing 36% of the total abortions in the state. 

However, WAWC came in a close second at 33% with 32% of babies being killed by surgical abortions and 68% being killed by medication abortions (also known as the “abortion pill”).

2023 will definitely be a good year for babies in Alabama.

As of June 24th, 2022, abortion is now illegal in Alabama.

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, Alabama officially became an abortion-free state.

But, we don’t need to forget that it hasn’t always been that way.

Since 1993, West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa has been one of the abortion leaders in the state. According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, on average, over 3,000 babies were killed each year through surgical and medical abortions. It is conservatively estimated that since 1993, over 85,000 babies have been killed at this abortion location. For many years, in Tuscaloosa County, more babies were killed by abortion than were born alive.

We are thankful that abortion is now illegal, but women are still facing unplanned pregnancies. Now, more than ever, we need to step up and help these women and their babies not just survive, but thrive.