DOES YOUR CALL TO OPPOSE ROE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Yes, it does.

The legislative aides to the chair and vice chair told one of our members that the calls had been pouring in. "We count them. Every one."

But what if it's difficult to get on the phone? You may be working odd hours, have children at home, or just hate the phone and feel unable to communicate that way with a state representative. 

When you say, "incompatible with life," is this who you mean?

Baby Hope was diagnosed with what doctors said was a fatal brain abnormality. So they told her mom to end the life of Baby Hope. 

But since when does our society promote killing as a treatment for disability?

She is alive and thriving today, proving the doctors wrong. This is the face of "incompatible with life." And this is what "ROE" Act supporters call "abortion access."

The "ROE" Act would make taking Hope's life legal.

Call the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee today.

Ask them to shelve the "ROE" Act, and protect Hope.

Chair Claire Cronin

(617) 722-2396

Claire.Cronin@mahouse.gov

Vice Chair Michael Day

(617) 722-2396

Michael.Day@mahouse.gov

For more information on the "ROE" Act, and a call script, click here.

Today, abortion supporters, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, are rallying virtually in an effort to bring about a vote on the "ROE" Act. 

Legislators need to hear that you do not support this radical bill. 

WE NEED YOU TO CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR & THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TODAY

The "ROE" Act would remove protections for newborn babies born alive during an abortion; risk our women's lives by removing hospital care for those undergoing grueling late term abortion; and endanger our young girls by denying them parental or adult support supervision at an abortion clinic.

√√ Use this main State House number (617) 722-2000 and request the offices of the Judiciary Committee

√√ Share this call to action with your friends and family -- forward it to at least 6 friends with a personal invitation to join you in calling the State House today.

√√ Get on social media and share the State House number and this easy to use call script with key dangers included in the "ROE" Act. 

Our whole team will be calling at NOON today during the virtual rally. But please feel free to email CJ with questions or needs anytime today. ( CJ@masscitizensforlife.org)

Send us photos of your pro-life rally via phone! We may be physically distanced, but social media can keep us loud, clear, and connected for life!

Pro-life women making the call this morning

MEDIA ADVISORY: ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL VOTED ON "FAVORABLY" IN MASSACHUSETTS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY

Boston, MA - 9 June 2020 -- Last week, the members of the Joint Committee on Public Health voted S.2745 (previously S.1208), "An Act Relative to End of Life Options" favorably out of committee.  

This is the first time in history a bill related to physician-assisted suicide (PAS) has cleared its committee assignment.

Patricia Stewart, Esq., executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, and one of the Commonwealth’s leading experts in the legalities of PAS, said: "The bill’s soothing catch phrases can disguise, but they cannot change, the bill’s ugly reality, which is the intentional ending of a human life in secret. We cannot permit this dangerous policy to become law in Massachusetts. The life of our most vulnerable family members and neighbors depend on it."

Difficulties in ensuring Massachusetts’ high standards of patient care, and the impossibility of protecting at-risk patients from abuse, have plagued this version of the bill and its predecessors. Citizens and legislators have shelved it repeatedly, while out-of-state suicide advocates have lobbied it back onto the agenda again and again.

Dr. Mark Rollo, MCFL board member and family physician in Fitchburg, MA, highlighted the bill’s perils in an automated call reaching citizens across the state.

       State sanctioned suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer.  The American Medical Association has strongly rejected it.  Physicians make mistakes. No law can include a safe guard for this simple fact.

1. Elder abuse will be exacerbated via potential coercion to take suicide pills.
2. Insurance companies will have an incentive to cut costs by denying expensive care and approving the affordable solution of suicide.
3. The COVID-19 pandemic elicited discussion of rationing of care, putting people with disabilities and the elderly at the end of the line.  The same logic can be applied to assisted suicide.
4. Recent mass protests have reminded us that minorities still suffer from discrimination.  Inevitably the poor and people of color will be steered toward suicide.

MCFL, in its mission to protect and respect the lives of every individual human being in Massachusetts, continues to oppose this bill and this week encouraged its members to contact their state representatives. The response has been tremendous.

"There is nothing more painful than witnessing a loved one face the challenges that often accompany the end of life. Yet there is nothing more precious than the human life itself," said Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life. "And so there is never too much energy or care we can expend when it comes to seeing our laws reflect that truth. This bill is deeply flawed, whatever your stance on the issue, and will endanger our at-risk neighbors and family. There are far more meaningful and humane end-of-life options our society should promote, namely palliative care and hospice services.”

For press queries:

Please email action@masscitizensforlife.org

The doctor prescribed suicide bill has been voted favorably out of committee onto the house for a formal vote during the COVID pandemic. 

We need you to call the State House today and ask your legislator to vote NO on doctor prescribed death, S.2745. Call 617 - 722 - 2000 and request your representative's office by giving the operator your zip code.

You can also look up your representative using your zip code here and email them. You may also contact them via social media, and this is a great mini tutorial for doing just that: Social Media and Contacting Your Elected Representative

Listen to expert Dr. Mark Rollo's call to voters across the state here.

Some key points to remember when reaching your representative or posting on social media:

• COVID19 mostly kills the elderly, the already-ill and people with disabilities. The assisted suicide bill, S2745, will endanger these individuals even more.
• The doctors deciding who is eligible for assisted suicide are the same ones who were perfectly comfortable putting the elderly, the immunocompromised, and people with disabilities at the back of the line for life-preserving COVID treatment.  Legalized assisted suicide will make medical discrimination worse and ageism worse.
• The assisted suicide bill is fatally flawed and ripe for abuse, coercion and mistakes.   When care is expensive and suicide is cheap, the bill tells elders, the immuno-compromised, and people with life-threatening disabilities  that their lives are worth-less.
• If Massachusetts legalizes assisted suicide, some people’s lives will be ended without their consent, through insurance denials, mistakes and abuse.  No safeguards have ever been enacted, or even proposed, that can prevent this outcome which can never be undone once it is put into effect.

REMEMBER THE CALL TO ACTION:

Use the primary state house number (617 - 722 - 2000) and request your district representative and state senator’s offices.  Call and ask them to oppose S2745, the assisted suicide bill. Call the Health Care Financing Committee at  (617) 722-1432 to request that they allocate no funding for a bill that will take innocent lives.

You can also look up your representative using your zip code here and email them.

Send us your success reports via email or on social media! Your stories encourage your fellow citizens to continue to fight for the vulnerable!

cj@masscitizensforlife.org

Mass. Citizens on FaceBook

National Right to Life reports, that the U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 13 on resolution to "ratify" the pro-abortion "Equal Rights Amendment"

[ This week's column by MCFL's president provides you with an easy to use phone script for calling your legislator, and members of the Judiciary Committee, to oppose the "ROE" Act. It also provides a quick refresher on the proposed law's provisions. ]

By Myrna Maloney Flynn, MCFL President

By raising my voice, I can help the greatest of all causes—good will among men and peace on earth. - Albert Einstein

“Hello, this is Myrna Maloney Flynn from Massachusetts Citizens for Life. I received your voicemail. How can I help?”

On the other end of the line, a longtime MCFL member with a soft trilling brogue humbly explained, “I’m 86 now and can’t get down to the State House to lobby like I used to. So I will call their offices about that bill. I just don’t know what to say.” 

Like my new friend, you’ve got the power of your voice. And I’ve got a way for you to use it. Yes, it will take 15 minutes of your day. But it has the potential to save thousands of lives.

We learned this week that the Judiciary Committee extended until May 12 its deadline to report on the ROE Act. This means that they’ve got until then to decide whether or not they will allow legislators to vote on the radical, dangerous legislation. The new deadline may also be pushed back, however, so it is likely that we won't be able to rest easy until the end of the session on July 31st. 

Despite our strong showing at last June’s hearing, and subsequent petition delivery last fall—efforts that successfully stalled the bill, we have not defeated it. Yet. To do so, we need to doggedly continue our lobbying efforts. And the quickest, easiest first step lies in your hands and with your voice: call your legislators. We know from experience that these phone calls are important to stopping legislation.  

There are six people you have to call to make a difference, and it will only take a few minutes of your day: Your state representative, your state senator, and the four committee chairs. I'm sharing a sample script that you can alter for each one of them. When you call, ask to leave a message for the individual. It’s important to say you are a constituent.

Not sure who your representative or senator is? You can look them up here (https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator). 

State Representative/State Senator Sample Script

"Hello, I would like to leave a message for Representative/Senator [name]. My name is [your name]. I live in [your town], Massachusetts and I am a constituent. I implore that [he or she] OPPOSE [If Representative: House Bill 3320. If Senator: Senate Bill 1209] - the ROE Act. It is a horrific piece of legislation that threatens the lives of young girls. It is a setback for women and society, and it further threatens the lives of society's most vulnerable. If the bill comes up for a vote in the state legislature, I expect Representative/Senator [name] to vote against the ROE Act. Thank you for passing along my message. I appreciate your time on this imporant issue."

After you’ve called your state rep/senator, call each of the four Judiciary Committee Chairs:

Committee Chair Claire Cronin  -- (617) 722-2396

Committee Vice-Chair Representative Michael Day -- (617) 722-2396

Committee Chair Senator James Eldridge -- (617) 722-1120

Committee Vice-Chair Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz -- (617) 722-1673

Judiciary Committee member Sample Script

"Hello, I would like to leave a message for Judiciary Committee member [name]. My name is [your name]. I am a voter in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I've contacted my local representatives, and I want to voice my opposition to the ROE Act - House Bill 3320/Senate Bill 1209 - currently being debated in the Judiciary Committee. It is a horrific piece of legislation that threatens the lives of young girls, it is a setback for women and society, and it further threatens the lives of society's most vulnerable. I urge the committee NOT to let the ROE Act be voted out of committee, and, instead, let the deadline pass to stop the bill from being voted on at all. Thank you for passing along my message. I appreciate your time on this important issue."

If any of the staff members try to justify the legislator's positions, simply tell them that there is no justification for this type of legislation and that, as a constituent, the legislator represents you. Therefore, you expect him or her to vote against it. 

Your voice matters to them because they know you are a voter in their district! These calls matter, and the other side knows it, too. They’ve been urging their fellow abortion rights supporters to make similar calls. So now, more than ever, raise your voice on this, the greatest of all causes. 

Please share this email with like-minded people and urge them to make these important calls as well. If we don't let our voices be heard, everything that Massachusetts pro-lifers have accomplished in the last 47 years could be lost. Beneath my message you’ll find a reminder of what the ROE Act will mean for our women, girls, and infants if it is passed.

Thank you for your time, energy, and passion in protecting the vulnerable in Massachusetts.

Finally, below is a review of the ROE Act’s implications. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with them and use your knowledge to inform others. Most voters simply do not know the impact this legislation will have. This bill would essentially wipe out every common-sense, pro-life law on the books in the Commonwealth. 

If passed, the ROE Act will:

• Remove protections for newborn babies who are born alive having survived a failed abortion (opening the door to infanticide);
• Eliminate the requirement that a parent (or at least a judge) consent before a minor girl undergoes an abortion; allowing any adult who may be abusing them to cover up their assault by eliminating the need for a legal guardian to consent to any abortion. 
• Allow abortions of viable unborn babies to be performed outside of a hospital, meaning abortions can be done in any facility, even those lacking the most basic of medical standards like hallways wide enough for gurneys if a woman needs to be rushed to the hospital (A woman was recently rushed to a hospital in Massachusetts due to hemorrhaging after an abortion). This further endangers women. 
• Increase taxpayer funding of abortion, by diverting money from Healthy Start, a program intended to reduce infant mortality among the poor;
• Eliminate all criminal penalties for the performance of any abortion—whether coerced, sex-selective, eugenic, incompetently executed, performed by a non-physician, inflicted on a victim of sex trafficking, statutory rape, or other sexual abuse, etc.

Mid-November, just a couple weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday and State House recess, MCFL started tallying the signatures.

On the online petition opposing the "ROE" Act (S.1209/H.3320) alone, we had thousands of signatures. And as our office began printing them off, more were coming in.

From every possible angle, the "ROE" Act fails. Perhaps the final straw for even pro-choice citizens has been the exposure of the provision that would remove multi-day late-term abortion procedures from our internationally acclaimed hospitals -- and dump them, and the women subjected to them, in unregulated clinics.

An attorney in New Mexico currently prosecuting just such a clinic for gross negligence and the death of his client's 23 year old daughter, Keisha, spoke to an audience the State House's Great Hall:

"The provisions in this bill [ROE] have killed or injured 17+ women in my state...and that's just the ones I've documented."

State House News stopped in to report on the delivery. As C.J. handed over the thick stack of signatures and petitions, the reporter snapped a photo.

Better than your voices being heard, the voices of the unborn and marginalized women were heard because you spoke up, signed up -- and some of you even showed up!

MCFL members who had received the call to action email the week before joined us on Beacon Hill.

After the delivery of signatures, we visited 40+ offices and representatives, all of whom were open -- and concerned -- about this bill's outright flouting of basic standards of medical care on an "access before safety" model that promotes abortion. Period.

Keep signing that petition! We're set to make another delivery after the holidays.

In the meantime, educate yourself on the line-by-line modifications of our general law imposed by the "ROE" Act, and join the movement (if you haven't already), to receive regular action opportunities that will save lives in Massachusetts.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh joined mayors from across Massachusetts, October 1st, at the Massachusetts State House, to declare support of legislation removing basic standards of medical care for women and newly born infants. SB 1209/HB 3320, the "ROE Act," abolishes parental consent, eliminates every meaningful constraint on any abortion up until birth (while simultaneously making such abortions even more unsafe by canceling the current requirement that abortions after the first trimester be performed in hospitals), and removes the current requirement that life-supporting medical equipment be on-hand during late-term abortions—in case a child survives the abortion attempt.

The event included Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera, Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern, Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer, Newburyport Mayor Donna Holaday, and Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle.

If any one of these officials is your mayor, call them today to express your deep disappointment in their judgment.

Boston - Marty Walsh - Phone: 617-635-4500

Cambridge - Marc McGovern - Phone: (617) 349-4321

Easthampton - Nicole LaChapelle - Phone: (413) 529-1400 ext. 470

Framingham - Yvonne Spicer - Phone: 508-532-5400

Newburyport - Donna Holaday - Phone: (978) 465-4413

by C.J. Williams

Summer is over, and the Fall has brought back the bill that's as problematic for pro-lifers as for those who are pro-choice. This is not the time to give in to apathy or distraction. S.1209 (the "R.O.E." Act) has not been dismissed by the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. The members of the committee are still taking testimony, still counting the numbers of calls they receive, and still undecided on what to do with this bill, whose provisions would radically reduce our medical standards of care for women, endanger our 12 and 13 year old  girls, and slash legal protection for infants born during botched abortions.

Neither pro-life nor pro-choice, S,1209 deserves a resounding no from voters, and our legislators.

But those legislators need to hear your voice, because the abortion business lobby is pressuring them fiercely.

Here's your brief update, and 3 action items. Put them on your calendar with a permanent marker.

S.1209 has not been changed, nor has it been approved and sent on to a vote in our legislature.

S.1209's provisions which abolish adult supervision for underage girls entering abortion facilities, and the removal of the requirement that late-term 2nd or 3rd trimester abortions be performed in hospitals continue to cause even our most pro-abortion representatives to waver on this bill.

S.1209 will not be heard again in public, which makes your contacting the committee in-person, via mail, email, and phone essential to educating them on the bill's dangers, and driving home the message you sent when you showed up in the hundreds at the June hearing.  

So TAKE 3 THIS WEEK: Completing this list will make a concrete difference in whether Massachusetts promotes abortion even over women's safety, and legalizes the passive killing of infants.

1. If you've already submitted testimony, follow up by contacting Chair Claire Cronin and Vice-Chair Michael Day of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. 
2. If you have not submitted testimony, submit your statement today.
3. Commit to calling each member of the committee one day this week and/or next during our Mobile Callbank (September 25 through October 9).

BONUS: Visit the the offices of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary this week or next. 

For easy reference:

Chair Rep. Claire Cronin

Claire.Cronin@mahouse.gov

Don't walk, run. There is nothing more critical to shelving this deadly bill than your non-stop vocal opposition.

Share the opportunity to reach our legislators with your friends, family, and neighbors, pro-life or pro-choice!

RESOURCES FOR EFFECTIVE ACTION BELOW:

GUIDELINES FOR TESTIFYING

ROE ACT FACT SHEET WITH CITATION OF CURRENT LAW AND CHANGES

SUPPORTING MEDICAL OPINION: SCIENCE SUPPORTS A NO TO S.1209

MCFL ON WGBH HEAD TO HEAD WITH NARAL