Why do citizens across the political spectrum oppose S.1209, the "R.O.E. Act"? Dr. Kerry Pound, Vice President of MCFL, illustrates why briefly and clearly in the following response to Rev. Robinson's strange conflation of religion with biology, and misunderstanding of the human development. The text below was published in The Cape Cod Times.

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By Kerry Pound, M.D., Vice President, MCFL

I appreciate the Rev. Edmund’s Robinson’s Aug. 16 My View in response to my June 15 op-ed, “Two patients? Not according to the proposed ROE Act.” But I am unclear why he believes I have asserted any religious perspectives, given my arguments arose from science. I did not mention religious teachings in either my op-ed or in my testimony at the Statehouse.

Science recognizes the beginning of life as conception. The journal Nature published a study with the opening statement: “The life cycle of mammals begins when a sperm enters an egg.”

Perhaps Robinson’s argument was that I have conflated life with personhood. If we agree life starts at conception, what constitutes the claimed profound difference between a zygote and an adult? Only time and development. Clearly, a human conceptus is not going to become a “wart” or a cancerous growth, and certainly ought not to be treated as such.

Our law in Massachusetts already allows for abortion throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy for concerns of mother’s health and life. The NASTY Act passed last summer guarantees that abortion will remain available in the commonwealth even if federal law changes.

Why then is the ROE Act necessary? Plainly, it isn’t.

According to their own estimates, Planned Parenthood performs over 330,000 abortion procedures per year. Apparently, that act of violence is their non-negotiable, because they've just voluntarily withdrawn from the program granting them funds through Title X. The organization receives approximately $60 million a year through Title X (which is less than 15% of the overall public funds given to the abortion giant); but in refusing Title X, Planned Parenthood is brazenly stating that abortion matters more than women's healthcare.

Most of other government funding comes through Medicaid, which does cover human abortions. 

Despite what leadership in Planned Parenthood has stated, no part of the current federal administration is forcing PP to forgo Title X funds. The rule does not target any particular organization; the rule is a blanket policy that guarantees Title X monies (federal funds) follow rules instated already by the HHS which bar abortion funding. The recent decision follows the ruling that now separates abortion from actual healthcare, and prohibits any organization providing healthcare from receiving federal funding if they also provide abortion. As of the writing of this article, courts support the decision, despite lawsuits from PP.

Unbiased observers have made a good point quietly between the shouts on both sides of this news story: Does PP have a deeper commitment to making a profit off killing the preborn, or to women's health? Is it "Care. No Matter What." or "Abort. No Matter What."?

Doctor Prescribed Suicide does not give patients the right to die; it gives doctors the right to kill

By Dr. Mark Rollo, Board of Directors, MCFL

Giving doctors the right to kill is dangerous.

Take Kate Cheney for instance.  She was an eighty five year old Oregonian with terminal cancer.  Her daughter, Erika, brought Kate to her physician to ask about assisted suicide.  However, Kate had mild dementia and her physician refused to prescribe suicide pills because he felt she lacked the capacity to understand the process.

Erika then engaged in "doctor shopping."  She took her mother to see a psychiatrist who rejected the request for assisted suicide on the same grounds as the former doctor, saying that Kate lacked the ability to weigh options about assisted suicide. The psychiatrist noted that Erika seemed coercive.

Undeterred, Erika continued to shop and took her mother to an “ethicist” at the HMO who determined that Kate was cognitively able to request suicide pills. Thus, poison was prescribed despite the obvious conflict of interest.  You see, Kate would no longer be an expense for the HMO if she were dead. After initial reluctance, Kate consumed the suicide cocktail. She had just spent a week in a nursing home, alone.

Kate is one of many people in Oregon who have been steered toward suicide.  This has been documented in the New England Journal of Medicine where patients doctor-shopped for suicide until they got what they wanted . . . . or what their family wanted for them.

It is estimated that about 10% of the elderly in Massachusetts are subject to abuse.  Doctor prescribed suicide is the perfect recipe for carrying out that abuse while simultaneously saving money for the health insurance carrier and providing the lure of a quick inheritance to family members.

All patients have the right to refuse care and take advantage of palliative care or hospice.  Doctor prescribed suicide is different. This act corrupts medicine by making the doctor, who should be committed to healing, complicit in killing.

Doctor prescribed suicide is dangerous indeed.  

Who would be the first Kate Cheney of Massachusetts to die at the hands of a “healer?”  

Bills that are before the Massachusetts joint committee on public health, S.1208 and H. 1926; “An act relative to end of life options,” would fuel elder abuse in Massachusetts and must be defeated.

Mark J Rollo, MD

Our president reflects on the attitude and actions we to need to create a culture based in relationship, valuing the humanity of the other, no matter the cost. Foundational to ending violence is a proactive personal commitment to generosity and peace.

by Myrna Maloney Flynn, MCFL President

How is it they live in such harmony, the billions of stars, when most men can barely go a minute without declaring war in their minds? ― Thomas Aquinas

I spent the summer before my senior year of high school as an exchange student in Japan. When I arrived, my host family gave me a choice between two weekend destinations that we could visit at the end of my stay: the beach or Hiroshima. 

Now, if you’ve spent each of your 17 years in Minnesota, with its countless, albeit beautiful, lakes, hanging out on the exotic sands of Okinawa is a no brainer. After all, I reasoned, I was on vacation; I preferred the thought of lounging comfortably. Plus, the prospect of being an American in Hiroshima wasuncomfortable. 

Yet as my return trip to the U.S. approached, I changed my mind. I’d find comfort back home soon enough, I thought. So the week before I left, we embarked on a road trip to Hiroshima: my non English-speaking host parents, their teenage daughter, and me.

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.

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.

Click the image to look up your representative by address / zip code

Geoff Diehl for U.S. Senate

We, who are pro-life, have an excellent opportunity to elect a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts who is also pro-life. He has the rare combination of being fiscally and socially responsible, yet at the same time he values the sanctity of life. He is socially responsible since he believes in helping others and has a track record of doing so. He is fiscally responsible and as a State Representative, among other fiscal steps he took, he was able to bring about the defeat of an automatic gas tax increase that would have cost taxpayers over $2 billion! Most Massachusetts taxpayers are unaware of the fact that the Massachusetts state debt in fiscal year 2015 was a whopping $75.3 billion according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is higher now. This is precisely why we need a good Republican representative in the U.S. Senate in Washington.

For a lot of reasons, Geoff is the right man. The pro-abortion movement is spinning out of control. Planned Parenthood that takes the lives of over 330,000 babies per year receives $500 million in federal taxpayer money. Yet they also got caught red handed in the horrendous act of selling baby body parts. Further, there are many Democratic members of both the House and Senate who are pushing for full term abortions! If you remember, Hillary Clinton during her Presidential campaign stated she was in support of full term abortions and justified it as being a "woman's choice". Full term! Just think about a beautiful child's life being taken through the brutal procedure of a full term abortion.

This is why, we need someone like Geoff in Washington...for fiscal, and social responsibility;  and for being a representative for the sanctity of life. His opponent is Elizabeth Warren, who is also a full term pro-abortion proponent.

Geoff has shown that he has courage. Recently he spoke out in favor of Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and his beautiful family. It is so easy to sit back and do nothing. Not Geoff! He also has two beautiful daughters and I am sure that he can only imagine what it is like to have his family be so unjustly treated, with an attempt to destroy them. I highly respect Geoff Diehl for speaking out, especially when he is involved in an election campaign.

We have a great choice in the midterm elections in November. Please strongly consider a vote for Geoff Diehl. Get out there to vote and encourage others to do so. This, for a lot of reasons, is an extremely important election.

Al DiLascia

Chicopee, MA