I received this letter via e-mail today:
In this letter: A report on the March for Life . . . the petition count has crossed 500,000 signatures! . . . an update on FOCA and what to expect next -- "FOCA-by-Stealth."
Dear Evangelina,
Surrounded by over 300,000 fellow pro-lifers -- many of you! -- on Thursday, the AUL Action team and our families marched up Constitution Avenue here in Washington DC, from the base of Capitol Hill to the steps of the Supreme Court. There were so many thousands of people thronging the streets that at times we couldn't move.
My eight-year-old daughter, Sarah, marched next to me, and I explained to her that we were headed to the Supreme Court so that the judges would know we believe abortion is wrong.
"Mommy," she asked, "how many people will it take to overturn Roe v. Wade?"
How many people indeed. My thoughts immediately went to you -- the hundreds of thousands of you who have signed the FightFOCA petition -- who have taken a public stand to say: our voices will not be silenced.
The day before the March for Life the petition count reached
HALF A MILLION signatures!
As I write today, the number has jumped to almost 600,000. That's partly because many people saw FightFOCA signs at the March.
But it's also because so many of you responded to our call to spread the word to your churches on Sanctity of Life Sunday -- the flyers were downloaded over 20,000 times! Thank you!
The success of this petition is because of YOU. The message has spread through email and through blogs and through Facebook and through word-of-mouth. Your efforts.
In fact, we have been so successful that now Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, and others are saying that they aren't going to try to pass the "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA).
Don't believe it for a second.
If your opponent gives up the frontal attack . . . you better start watching your flank.
We are now seeing the abortion forces waging an incremental battle -- working to pass what we have termed "FOCA-by-Stealth."
They think that if they take FOCA and repackage it and pass it in pieces and under different names . . . that we won't notice.
But with apologies to Shakespeare, FOCA by any other name, smells just as bad. And as they pass the Stealth FOCA's, more babies will be killed and more women victimized by the abortion-on-demand regime.
Case in point: I'm sure you've heard that the day after the March, President Obama used an executive order to overturn the long-standing ban on funding organizations that promote and perform abortions overseas. The media portrayed him as sensitive to pro-lifers because he waited till after the March -- in fact, he released the order at 5:00 on Friday -- a textbook stealth move to keep the story under the media radar.
And now they've added subsidies for the abortion industry into the economic stimulus package. No surprise: Cecile Richards used to be the Deputy Chief of Staff to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. So it's no wonder we saw Pelosi on the Sunday shows arguing that more tax dollars for Planned Parenthood -- and fewer children -- helps the economy. Incredible.
Friends, this is just the beginning. We have a lot of work in front of us.
Please keep encouraging your friends to sign the FightFOCA petition.
We will be using those signatures on Capitol Hill in the days ahead to argue against FOCA and ANY and EVERY piece of legislation that promotes abortion.
The FightFOCA petition says to Planned Parenthood and their Congressional allies: we will not be silenced.
The week before the March, my husband, Jack and I had the honor of attending the funeral of the pro-life hero, Father Richard John Neuhaus.
We were all reminded that in one of his last speeches, Father Neuhaus encouraged the pro-life movement by saying, "We shall not weary, we shall not rest, until every unborn child is protected in law and welcomed in life."
How many people will it take to overturn Roe? It takes you.
Thanks for your work and being a part of this movement.
Yours for Life,
Charmaine
Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.
President & CEO
AUL Action The Legislative Arm of Americans United for Life
FightFOCA.com
FightFOCA@FightFOCA.com
P.S. -- More pictures from the March are posted on my Facebook page.
