By Myrna Maloney Flynn, MCFL President 

The year after Roe v. Wade, a blue-collar couple in their 40s was struggling to raise six kids, the youngest 11, when they learned the woman was pregnant. After Mass one day, a friend chided them, saying, “You know, there’s something you can do now.”

I’m Myrna Maloney Flynn. I’m here today because my parents knew the truth and gave me my life. I want to dedicate it to shining light on that truth to save others’ lives.

Every step I’ve taken in the last three decades has prepared me to successfully assume the MCFL presidency now. I studied communications and political science. I hold a master’s degree in teaching. I’ll soon have an MBA.

I’ve lived in Japan and India, so I’ve observed the cultural value of human life from vastly different perspectives. I taught high school in the Bronx, where I witnessed teen motherhood and minors who had abortions. I developed a thick skin while cold calling as a sales rep and an even sturdier spine as a TV reporter. I’ve helped lift startup companies off the ground, led successful nonprofit fundraisers, and sailed past development goals at community events. For the past five years, I’ve held leadership positions in higher education -- an industry, widely known to support abortion rights, that forced me to speak for those who cannot.

I am blessed to have a husband of 16 years, who has become one of my closest pro-life advisors. We thank God each day for our four children.

I self-nominated for a seat on MCFL’s board and was elected last year. Since then, I’ve been invited to participate in nearly all aspects of MCFL’s internal operations and have leveraged my role as director before external audiences as well. In March, I was unanimously elected vice president, an honor and opportunity that I determinedly made the most of.

• I’ve re-established ties with key pro-life advocates in western Mass., resulting in a new list of 150 contacts and the first pro-life club at Amherst College
• I’ve taken on the role of spokesperson, representing MCFL in the media, before Anti-fascists at our March for Life, testifying at last week’s S.1209 hearing, delivering remarks at the State House rally and at Northampton’s City Council Meeting; and creatively appealing to our members at events and online
• I’ve forged a relationship with MassGOP and the leadership at MFI, Renew MA, SBA List and the Charlotte Lozier Institute  
• I hosted MCFL’s first-ever Northampton rally, in a bitterly cold rain, among that city’s numerous and vocal pro-choice residents
• Crazy, yes. But it served the purpose of getting Senator Comerford’s attention as well as a meeting with her
• You can read about that in the new magazine issue, which I helped produce

When you think of lobbying, you probably think of State House halls, formal letters, or official meetings scheduled in offices or quiet restaurants. But what you may not know is that nearly every one of your legislators now has an active presence on social media, and their Facebook and Twitter accounts are as valid and impactful a meeting ground as their offices.

In fact, sometimes, social media causes a greater impact than a formal letter these days, because on social media, one message may not just reach your representative or senator. One message may reach your entire district.

And that kind of reach is a reality every politician watches like a hawk.

Here are the easy steps to finding, reaching, and engaging your legislator online. Double your lobbying efforts by reaching out via social media, bring your fellow state citizens to the conversation, and raise awareness of the laws and proposed laws threatening or supporting human lives in Massachusetts.

1. Do you know who your representatives are? Who your senator is? If not, start here: Plug in Your Address and Receive Your Legislators' Full Contact Information (click here to search).

2. Do you have FaceBook? If so, take the names of your representatives to your FaceBook toolbar, and type them in. 

It should look like this in your browser.

3. Do you have Twitter? If so, take the names of your senator or representatives and type them into the search bar on your Twitter feed.

If your senator or representative has an account, it should show up like this in your browser:

Click on the name in the search results, then select follow. Now, you can either tweet at them, or send them a direct message.

In the next few weeks, we will be running a series of citizen responses to the so-called "R.O.E." Act (S.1209/H.3320). From longtime pro-choice voters and longtime pro-life proponents, and from those in-between and on-the-fence, these letters and remarks show a startling consensus in opposing this badly prepared and dangerous legislation. 

[ To my fellow citizens and to our legislators ]

I had the privilege of sitting in the hearing before the Judiciary Committee on the ROE Act/S1209/H3320 on Monday, June 17. There was an impressive turnout on both sides for supporting and opposing this... bill [sic] before the legislature. 

I am a retired newborn ICU/labor and delivery nurse, and adoptive mother of two. I have, in the past, sat on the sidelines of the abortion issue trying to respect a woman’s personal choice.

However, after hearing of New York’s [extreme] new abortion law, I have left my “comfort zone” to become educated and involved on this very emotional issue. There are many components to this new proposed legislation now coming to Massachusetts that appear, in my opinion, to be anything but health care!  [The text] can be found on the massgov.org website: S1209/H3320 or on masscitizensforlife.org. 

A number of aspects of this proposed legislation appear to remove safeguards such as permission by a parent for minors. There is no recognition of the human person/baby/infant growing within the womb or provision for [an infant] born alive [during late-term abortions]*. The "R.O.E" Act would eliminate compulsory hospital-based abortions for second and third-trimester pregnancies when the risk for complications is greatest! It was unclear who, if anyone, would be responsible for inspections and/or licensing of the abortion facilities – just to mention a few. 

I left with too many questions and concerns regarding the "R.O.E." Act. This is a hastily contrived bill where nothing I heard before the committee at the State House convinced me that the [proposed law] is in the best interest of women’s health. Let us move cautiously so that we do not put women at risk. 

This past week, the abortuary in Fitchburg run by Planned Parenthood and forty miles outside Boston, closed. 

Despite raucous claims of being a key provider of women's healthcare in Massachusetts and beyond, this facility and most others serve to perform abortions. Inconvenient? Not to the women and children who enter Planned Parenthood looking for care, and get a sales pitch for killing their preborn son or daughter. Yet in hearings on S1209/H3320 ("An Act to Remove Obstacles and Expand Access to Abortion In MA"), NARAL and Planned Parenthood representatives repeatedly decried the restrictions and hardships involved for women desperately seeking abortions in the state.

This is why, they argued, we need to legalize abortion up-to-birth for any reason, remove parental consent for minors seeking abortion, and cut the part of our law that ensures women are treated in hospitals by an MD during the grueling sometimes 3-day late-term abortion procedure.

But are adults obstacles?

In a state with perhaps the best healthcare in the nation, and leading healtchare in the world, are hospitals obstacles?

Not obstacles to the safety of our women, or of our girls. 

But both are obstacles to Planned Parenthood's profit margin, since abortions form the majority of their services and cash-flow.

This week, your participation is imperative.

The grisly anti-life bills s1209/h3320, which you testified against last Monday are joined by a bill pushing doctor prescribed death. 

It is so important that Stephanie Packer and Dr Brian Callister are flying in.

DPS is the only topic on the Public Health Care Committee agenda. We expect the hearing to end on time.

Dear friends,

What a momentous day we shared at the State House yesterday! If you were able to join us, you know I'm not exaggerating when I say that, without a doubt, we delivered a resounding, united "NO" before those who question whether more abortions are what the Commonwealth's citizens want. Outside on the steps, within overflow seating areas, and inside at the microphone, a loving, earnest, and firm pro-life message easily muffled that of the opposition.

Sitting idle, the few remaining people in pink apparently did not want, or perhaps could not find the words, to respond.

Thank you for joining us yesterday.

Thank you for signing our petition.

Thank you for your generous gifts which allowed us to execute our June 17 campaign with force!

This effort is not yet finished. 

Please continue to follow our updates regarding these bills. (Chairman Cronin adjourned the hearing without giving any indication of what the committee's next move would be.) And I ask: keep educating those who you know to be supporters of the bills about the legislation's many flaws. If one thing was prominent yesterday, it's that most proponents of the so-called "ROE" Act have not even read the legislation nor taken time to understand its likely repercussions.

Yesterday was yesterday, and we blew the top off the State House. But we must not become complacent. We're merely shifting gears to press on to the finish line, and at top speed.

I am so proud to work with each of you, and I look forward to carrying our momentum into the next few weeks.

With sincere gratitude,

Myrna Maloney Flynn

Massachusetts Citizens for Life

Dear Friend of Life,

A joyful Father’s Day from this father to every other!

A good father wants to protect women and children.

He knows the selfishness in his own heart and battles that. From the gentleness and wisdom gained in that struggle, a man becomes a better father, becomes a father of all those who are less powerful.

And we need this gallant, fatherly strength to resist those who would profiteer from the killing of unborn babies and the maiming of their mothers in abortion.

MONDAY, June 17th, is the big day: the Beacon Hill hearing for S.1209/H.3320, the unrestricted-abortion “ROE Act.” In some ways this legislation is even more radical than the New York and Illinois “Reproductive Health Acts.”

It would set up a right to unrestricted abortion, removing every hedge on that act of killing. In no way is it pro-choice; it is fully pro-abortion. It does not reflect any kind of consensus in the Commonwealth or this country. Instead it reflects the interests of those who profiteer from killing the most powerless humans. It’s an abortion-industry wish list selling itself as feminist liberation.

We must rather represent the interests of women and children. So, please join Massachusetts Citizens for Life for a rally at 10:00 am, gathering at the General Hooker entrance of the State House: RSVP here.

The hearing itself is at 1:00 pm, in the Gardner Auditorium.

We need each one of your voices. If you wish to give oral testimony, here are some guidelines: Testimony to Legislature Tips.  I would suggest aiming for two minutes, with some modular components you can plug in (if we end up receiving more time) or remove (if too redundant given other testimony).

And, again, for reference, it might be useful to look at our ind=-depth analysis of the bills here.

You may submit written testimony either before the hearing or in the days immediately following. That would be addressed to the chairs of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, Sen. James Eldridge and Rep. Claire Cronin, using the contact info here: https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/J19.

Calling the members of this Committee would also be of real service.

If you cannot come, please consider a donation so that we can see this fight through, with undiminished vigor. Your secure donation to help us save lives can be made here.

“It’s Father’s Day, and everybody’s wounded,” sang Leonard Cohen.

It’s time to start binding up those wounds.

For the love of life,

David Franks, Ph.D., Chairman
http://www.masscitizensforlife.org/

RALLY & HEARING MONDAY JUNE 17TH 10AM - Bus into Boston!

We have a generous donor who has just stepped forward to match any offering for transportation. If you can't make it, sponsor a friend, student, or pastor to join us.

MassCitizensForLife.org/donate for online contribution*  

RSVP HERE!

(If you are not joining a bus caravan, check out the best parking options near the Massachusetts State House: Parking Near Rally Point )

Don't let distance keep you from being the force that changes history here in Massachusetts. On Monday, the extremist anti-life bills S.1209/H.3320 will be reviewed by committee.

It is crucial that you are there demonstrating that Massachusetts will not accept laws that critically endanger our women, our teenage daughters, and our infants.

If you need a ride, we are chartering buses in the following locations:

MCFL PARTNERS WITH NATIONAL SBA LIST & LOCAL PRO-LIFE ORGS TO ANNOUNCE POLL RESULTS ON EXTREME ABORTION LAW (S.1209)

“An overwhelming majority of Massachusetts voters support existing, common-sense abortion limits and agree that expanding abortion on demand through birth is too extreme,” said Liebel. “The response to this radical legislation across the board – Democrats, Independents, women, and self-described pro-choice voters – shows this is not a partisan issue. Massachusetts lawmakers should stand with their constituents and reject abortion extremism.”

 

Yesterday, we announced the results of a poll showing the overwhelming majority of Massachusetts voters reject the extreme provisions in Senate Bill 1209/ House Bill 3320. 

Performed by national advocacy organization, The Susan B. Anthony List, the poll surveyed voters who identified as pro-choice, and were registered as Democrat and Independent. Despite radically diverse backgrounds, our Massachusetts citizens maintained a consistent opposition to every provision in this proposed law.

At the press event and rally, Sue Swayze Liebel, state policy director, for Susan B. Anthony List, laid out S.1209's provisions, describing how they brazenly promote late-term abortion on demand through birth, eliminate adult supervision for our teenage girls entering an abortion facility (thus leaving them prey to sexual abusers), and remove protections for babies born alive in failed abortions.

The conference room overflowed, and security approached us with concerns, because they had only expected 50 or so attendees.

MCFL Vice President, Myrna Maloney Flynn addressed the packed room stating: "This poll did not survey members of the pro-life groups standing here today. It surveyed Massachusetts voters -- citizens who are registered Democrats, Republicans, Independents -- voters of all party affiliations. The majority deeply oppose this irrational bill."

The fact that this bill flagrantly dismisses the human rights and health of women, children, and infants -- to say nothing of the preborn children -- was more than ever apparent.

Although invited directly by MCFL representatives, members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary -- which will hear both versions of this anti-life bill -- were not in attendance.

Flynn addressed them, and all Massachusetts citizens through the press from the podium: "Each of you has a unique opportunity to redefine this debate, redirect the conversation, renounce extremism, and represent Massachusetts on a national level while you do so. By your bravery, your leadership, your demonstrated commitment to--and genuine care for--the people who put you in office, you will, as Dr. King championed, do what is right."

 

Answer this call to action today.

S.1209 and H.3320 will be heard by the committee in the upcoming months. They need to hear the voices of the voters.  They need to hear the common sense consensus that we, as Massachusetts citizens, reject bad law. Period.

Call them today.  (You can find contact information at this link.)

Join our emergency action rallies weekly. Sign up now!

There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s a challenge to actively be pro-life in Massachusetts. Particularly in Northampton, where I live, advocates for the preborn are few. Voices of abortion rights supporters drown out those of us who speak for the voiceless.

For many years, I responded with a relative non-response: silence born of intimidation. But gradually, my conscience awoke to the reality of the behavior that’s become “normal,” and smothered my fear.

Then I sprang into action born of love.

Love for women who get lies, when they most need support.

Love for fathers who never know, who are just as scared, or who buy the same lies.

Love for doctors whose sight fails them.

Love for politicians who trade lives for votes.

And aching love for innocent, lost members of our society, whose potential we will never know.

Meaningful action relieves the pain that abortion injects into our world.

Whereas sitting on the sidelines became increasingly uncomfortable for me, taking to the field energizes as no endorphin can do, especially when you play with a great team.

I know you love as I do.

So show your love in action. Join our team, advocate for the voiceless, and jump off the sidelines into a lifesaving game.

Join the Massachusetts March for Life this Sunday, June 2nd, on the Common at 1pm.  

Or donate to bring another into this freeing, life-saving demonstration.

This year’s theme: Love in Action.

Recruit friends, bring family, post photos with the #LoveInAction hashtag, and show others how to play the game—and win.

It may not be popular to be pro-life here. It may be esier to stay home and keep quiet. But to defend the lives and rights of our vulnerable citizens, whether preborn or born, requires us to listen to our conscience and actively, boldly love.

See you on the Common,

Myrna Maloney Flynn

Vice President, Massachusetts Citizens for Life

Northampton

P.S. - Support MCFL’s continued efforts by making a gift for life.

http://www.masscitizensforlife.org/

PRO-LIFE ADVOCATES TO RALLY IN ABORTION RIGHTS STRONGHOLD

Participants question logic, safety of extremist S.1209 abortion bill.

Contact: C.J. Williams, Director of Community Engagement, cj@masscitizensforlife.org - 857-302-0466

Boston -- Tuesday, May 28, 2019 -- For the first time in its 46-year history, Boston-based Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL) will hold a rally in Northampton, a Hampshire County city whose residents are widely known as some of the state’s most ardent supporters of abortion.

MCFL expects pro-life advocates from across the state to participate in the event, organized as an effort to raise awareness and opposition to Senate bill S.1209, the so-called “R.O.E. Act.” The rally will take place from 5:00-6:30 PM in downtown Northampton, at the intersection of Main and Pleasant Streets.

Advocates will peacefully and respectfully pose the following question: Senator Jo, do you know? State Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health Jo Comerford is expected to lead the upcoming hearing on S.1209. Senator Comerford, a first-term senator from Northampton, is known for genuinely valuing her constituents' feedback. Advocates will provide lots of it.

About S.1209

There is no word that better describes S.1209 than “extreme.” Some radical implications for Massachusetts residents, if the bill becomes law:

• Elimination of the parental consent requirement. No adult (except perhaps an adult impregnator) need be involved before a pregnant 13-year-old walks into an abortion facility
• Elimination of the requirement that abortions after the first trimester be performed in hospitals
• Refusal of legal protection to a child who survives an abortion attempt

“There is no logical reason to support this bill, unless, of course, you’re in the abortion business,” said Myrna Maloney Flynn, MCFL Vice President. “As written, it does not help women; it endangers them. It does not protect our girls; it irresponsibly leaves them exposed. For infant girls, it means a worse fate. We will be responsible for these human rights assaults, since S.1209 also increases taxpayer funding of abortion.”

About Massachusetts Citizens for Life

Founded on January 23, 1973, Massachusetts Citizens for Life is the largest and longest-serving right-to-life organization in New England. In recognition of the fact that each human life is part of a continuum from conception to natural death, the mission of Massachusetts Citizens For Life, Inc. is to restore respect for human life and defend the right to life of all human beings, born and pre-born. We will influence public policy at the local, state and national levels through comprehensive educational, legislative, political and charitable activities.

# # #

SENATE BILL 1209 / HOUSE BILL 3320

ENDANGERS 12 AND 13 YEAR OLD GIRLS.

WHY?

S.1209/H.3320 REMOVES ADULT SUPERVISION by striking out section 12L (chp.122) in our General Law. This leaves our children prey to sexual predators, and sex trafficking. SEE S.1209 SECTION 12L.

(for further background, see the undercover journalistic investigations of abortion facilities refusing to report sex crimes: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10156350513198728)

RISKS WOMEN’S LIVES.

HOW?

S.1209/H.3320 STRIKES MEDICAL REGULATIONS THAT ENSURE THE HEALTH & SAFETY OF WOMEN SUBMITTING TO LATE-TERM ABORTIONS by removing section 12M (chp.112) in our General Law. A woman’s health is now less important -- and protected -- than the law’s commitment to promoting abortion at any time, for any reason. A procedure that is more likely to kill her (abortion) can be recommended before she is given prenatal care. SEE SECTION 12M in CURRENT LAW

KILLS INFANTS*.

HOW?

S.1209/H.3320 STRIKES OUT REQUIREMENTS THAT DOCTORS PROVIDE LIFE-SAVING TREATMENT TO BORN INFANTS by striking section 12P (chp.112) in our General Law: “[a physician must take] reasonable steps, both during and subsequent to the abortion, in keeping with good medical practice, consistent with the procedure being used, to preserve the life and health of the aborted child” if that child is born alive during the procedure.” SEE SECTION 12P IN CURRENT LAW.

*(for research proving that babies without this protection are routinely killed, Canada’s CIHI provided a statistics sheet in reply to our query regarding their similar law &  infants born alive during abortion procedures:: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QtC0BXfavgyg1KKX1Fb2qGevdcKmDDBp/view)

This week, we celebrated The Day of the Birth Mom. It is vitally important that we highlight the courage of these unsung heroes. When you place a baby with another woman, I hear it breaks your heart. I also hear that it fills it like nothing else.

A girl we know recently described her decision to place her baby for adoption as, "The most amazing, heart-shattering gift I ever gave, and ever got."

But if she had called Planned Parenthood to ask for resources, all she would have received was a pitch for why her career in the military would be ruined by her unplanned child. Instead, she spoke with C.J., who affirmed her strength & referred her to adoption counselors.

Each mom demonstrates heroic courage. We all know at least one woman whose strength is inspiring.

But today, we're highlighting that unique courage of a mother who knows mothering her child means letting another woman raise her baby.

So today, and the remainder of this month, put your pro-life commitment into action, and put love in action by taking a moment to thank a birth-mother. Maybe the mom is yours. Maybe it's a mother you've read about on social media, like the girl above. But in a world that denies women's strength, & aggressively promotes killing their children before offering them the opportunity to give the gift of motherhood to another woman...just saying "You were a hero" will celebrate her heroism, and show other women the strength they have to make the same heroic decision.

Or maybe give a gift in her name today and support our outreach to those of real-life superheroes, the ones we don't see on the silver screen: Birth Moms.

Another amazing woman we've worked with in the past shared her full story with us in a previous blog post. Her unique courage took an option that looked like a loss, and made it the chance to expand her whole family through an open adoption. She and the adoptive mother have a relationship with P.J.

That's a double gift, in one way, isn't it? Giving your baby life and giving another woman the chance to mother, when she couldn't naturally.

JOIN the movement today, and put your love into action.

DONATE & become our partner as we put love into action for life each day in Massachusetts.

"But it wasn’t until September 2009 that Johnson actually saw for the first time what happens in the womb during an abortion. The experience radically changed her life. She quit Planned Parenthood and became a pro-life activist. Her extraordinary metamorphosis is portrayed in “Unplanned,” a compelling new movie starring Ashley Bratcher ."

So writes Jeff Jacoby in a recent op-ed for The Globe. Detached, but thoroughly honest, his article does something very similar to what UnPlanned does on the screen: looks directly at the people impacted by abortion, without flinching, and yet without judging either.

His  honest opinion of the game-changing film UNPLANNNED will be in print this week and is already online.

"Before it is anything else, the destruction of life in the womb is an act of violence against a helpless creature."

I encourage you to take this article and run with it. Share it and support The Globe, but more particularly, support Jeff, who has gone against the unspoken gag rule in our nation not to look at the victims of the killing of a human at his or her earliest stages.

Register for the 2019 Massachusetts March & Walk For Life, Love In Action.

Submit your $25 entry fee below, and get started on that fundraising!

Most of our marchers have never participated in a fundraising event, and yet the average first-time walker can raise over $1,000. 

Here are some fundraising tips:

• Make a plan. Work with your team to set a fundraising goal and develop a simple plan.
   
• Use your personal profile on our web page as a fundraising page. The second you register, find your unique link (for example: masscitizensforlife.org/cj), and get busy on social media! Statistics show that friends connected via FaceBook and email, when asked, are 5x more likely to pitch in to your walk than those not given an easy online way to support you.   Even if computers aren't your communication method of choice, you will find this tool simple, and our team is always available to answer any questions you have.  
• Don’t Be Afraid. You never know who may have been deeply impacted by our throwaway attitude towards our fellow human beings. From abortion-coercion, to post-abortive suicide, from doctor-prescribed death to siblings who have lost siblings to abortion... So many people are suffering in silence – your strength will be their inspiration, and invitation, to heal.
   
• Most people need to be asked 6 times before they make a donation. Just because the first Facebook status or email didn’t receive a donation, does not mean you won’t receive one. Follow-up with everyone you know. Again. And again. And again! Lives are on the line. 
   
• Spread Awareness to Save Lives. The most important aspect of your fundraising effort is educating people about our mission. Think of it like dominoes: the facts that you share with one will get passed along to another. You may just be the instrument to save an irreplaceable life.
   
• Show Your Gratitude.  Thank everyone who supports you. You can show it by phone, show it in person, show it in personal card. But let your gratitude show. Those who partner with you on this historic walk should know that their contribution- large or small- means the world to you, and is critical to the cause.

REGISTER FOR BOSTON

How extreme should Massachusetts be? 

S.1209 legalizes infanticide. It is so extreme that it is opposed by citizens all across the political divide.

Say NO to extremism and state-sponsored irresponsibility towards our most vulnerable citizens. Sign the petition now and contact your legislator to oppose S.1209.

Read a full analysis of this deadly bill here. 

In 2018, we were confronted with three highly disturbing trends and one encouraging trend.

• Abortion was the number one cause of death worldwide in 2018.
  
• Obamacare is killing the poor and elderly.
  
• A majority favor tinkering with DNA of preborn babies.
  

But...

By Anne Fox

When we worked so hard against The Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), we opposed it for four reasons. One of those reasons was its in-built rationing. 

According to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, an Obamacare provision penalized hospitals for readmitting Medicare patients within a month of being discharged and led to increased mortality rates among adults who experienced pneumonia and heart failure.  The provision imposed financial penalties on hospitals with too-high readmission rates for patients with heart failure, heart attacks or pneumonia starting in 2012. It was supposed to encourage better care. But it has encouraged something else: Medicare has levied approximately $2 billion in penalties on hospitals since 2012.