by Nathan A. Cherry, 05/18/2012

NARAL president Nancy Keenan is stepping down.

There’s a war on the family taking place in America. It seeks to destroy any semblance of what the traditional family was and redefine every aspect of “family” into something it was never meant to be. Liberal lawmakers and social leaders are waging this war in an effort to execute a radical agenda that will ultimately violate the religious liberties and other freedoms we’ve enjoyed for so many years. And, unless you pay attention you might be unaware of the tools being used to wage this war.

A recent article I came across spells out in detail at least 10 of the tools being used to attack the traditional family and its values.

While most of these should come as no surprise, some might not be suspected by most people. But when we stop to really consider the implications on society, it is easy to see how “No Fault Divorce,” “Child Custody Laws,” and “Welfare” are able weapons in the liberal left’s arsenal. We here at the FPCWV see the need to address “No Fault Divorce” through divorce reform which is why we helped author and pass the Premarital Education Act through the state legislature this year. The bill was signed by Governor Tomblin at our National Day of Prayer Gubernatorial Breakfast just on May 3^rd.

You certainly would not be wasting your time to take a few moments and read the well written, practical article found at World Net Daily.com. It’s always good to be prepared and to know your enemy when fighting a war.

One of the biggest weapons being leveled against the family is abortion. From academic studies to surveys and polls, we have seen where abortion has served to cause ongoing emotional, mental and physical problems for women; which translates to their families. Secret abortions have torn family’s apart and made sex-trafficking and prostitution easier.

The good news is that the tide is turning decisively in the direction of life! Despite what Planned Parenthood and other groups might tell us and want us to believe, life is becoming a major force in the American socio-political landscape. So much so that even pro-abortion groups like NARAL are starting to admit that the tide is turning.

In fact, NARAL’s leader Nancy Keenan has decided to step down due to concerns that abortion lacks support among younger voters. The results of a recent poll by NARAL shows:

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by Nathan A. Cherry, 05/11/2012

The upcoming election is one of the biggest in our nations’ history, of that I am sure. After nearly four years of the most pro-abortion, pro-homosexual president in U.S. history, our nation is being pushed away from the traditional values it was founded upon. But, while economic and healthcare issues are sure to be front and center in debates, don’t think for one minute that life and marriage are unimportant.

Events of the last few weeks along with this week’s election results have told me that social issues like life and marriage are still major factors in people’s mind as they decide who they will vote for. Even president Obama is leveraging social issues like marriage with his announcement this week that he now fully supports legalizing same-sex “marriage.” This could also be a political chess move to distract American voters from his failed record, who knows.

The fact is these issues have always been important to the American people. Now more than ever, more Americans identify as pro-life and support restrictions on abortions, limiting abortions to rare and emergency cases, and removing all tax funding from abortion. Yet with a super-majority of Americans in favor of such measures, our pro-abortion president has given more money to fund abortion than any other president, has fought any and all restrictions of abortion, and generally done all he can to ensure groups like Planned Parenthood can continue their criminal activities.

But West Virginia sent two very clear messages during Tuesday’s election.

According to West Virginian’s for Life, fully 88% of endorsed pro-life candidates passed the primary election to get on the ballot in November. This means 130 of 147 endorsed candidates will now be on the ballot in November. You can read this article to see the full list of those making it past the primary on Tuesday. Regarding Sen. Manchin the article states:

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by Nathan A. Cherry, 05/10/2012

Father Frank Pavone has said often that “America won’t end abortion until it sees abortion.” This statement rings true and is indicative of the culture we live in. It’s a culture so rife with distractions that abortion and the fight to defend life is just one of many things on our “checklist” of things to do today.

Every once in a while, in between items on our busy schedules, we decide to do something to aid in the fight to end abortion. Maybe we write a letter to a lawmaker, or we donate to a care pregnancy center, or maybe we even sign a petition and attend a rally. These things make us feel better, like we’ve accomplished something and made a difference in our world for those that can’t speak for themselves.

Few people have ever stood in front of an abortion clinic and peacefully demonstrated, prayed, counseled and pleaded with mother’s about to end the life of their unborn baby. It takes boldness, courage, compassion, and an intense desire to see abortion end in America to stand in front of an abortion mill seeking to intervene for the unborn.

I have stood in front of a clinic, peacefully praying and demonstrating on behalf of the unborn. While my experience has been relatively easy, compared to many stories I’ve heard, I was struck by one particular recurring comment from passersby as we stood on the street. You might think it has to do with our presence, our faith, or something else. None of the above was ever mentioned. What was mentioned, however, was the fact that we held large pictures of aborted babies for everyone driving by to see. (Warning, graphic content after the break)

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By Tom Stark, 05/09/2012

Back on February 1, 2012, the day I began my tenure as a blogger for the Family Policy Council of WV my article on teen pregnancy questioned whether or not the increase in teen pregnancy could accurately be blamed on “more sex and less protection” or on a reduction in the number of abortions being performed on teens in West Virginia.  Several weeks later, on April 11, Whitney Burdette of the State Journal, wrote an article concerning the WV State Board of Education’s policy against abstinence only sex education.

A striking claim made by those speaking with the author was that there was effectively no difference in the rates between those exposed to “comprehensive” versus “abstinence-only” sex education curricula.   Quoting the April 11, article:

“Kristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life of America, the nation’s largest youth-based pro-life organization, said the rate of sexually transmitted diseases [STD’s] among teens is the same no matter the type of sex education those teens are learning. “

While this statement refers to STD’s, not teen pregnancies, it takes little thought to acknowledge that teen pregnancy can equally be impacted by the same behaviors.  So, we have apparently reliable data showing no difference in the results achieved, but the far safer of the two is forbidden by our State Board of Education.  This makes total sense…in an upside-down world.     

That article demonstrates just how out-of-kilter our state’s policies have become and just where we are headed, but the thing that struck me the most was that there were strong suggestions in the latter portions of the article that what is missing in our policies and standards as well as our laws is parental involvement and parental responsibility.  With that I can whole-heartedly agree!  Where is the priority given to parental guidance?  Where does the policy encourage parental participation?  Again, the article quotes Kristan Hawkins:

“Hawkins said that although her organization doesn’t take a stance on sex education, she personally believes that contraception-based education does not solve all problems. ‘Everyone agrees that abstinence is the only way to remain STD free, the only way to reduce out of wedlock births, but no one wants to talk about it or give it a try,’ she said.”

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I kid you not.

That’s a fundraiser, in fact, a national fundraising effort.  The National Abortion Access Fund (did you know there was such a thing?) has organized a series of nationwide bowl-a-thons to raise money.  What’s the money for?  In their words:

Abortion funds from across the country are raising money to make reproductive rights a reality for women who can’t afford to pay for an abortion.

Note to the Abortion Industry’s communication’s team: root out the contradiction in messaging.  If “reproductive rights” are, as you often say, a human right, than it is wholly inconsistent to “make [them] a reality for women who can’t afford to pay for an abortion.”  I think what you mean to say is that you wish to require someone else to pay for abortion.

Of course, Women’s Health Center of West Virginia – the state’s largest abortion clinic in the state that commits about 5 abortions per day on the West side of Charleston – is one of the beneficiaries of this fund.  And, WV Free is the primary organizer of the bowl-a-thon that happened last month in Charleston.

Yep, here’s the list of teams organized by WV Free.  In all, teams – with such clever, side-splitting, kitschy names as, “Split Happens” and “Besties with Testes/Breasties” and, a very punny one, “Roll v. Wade” – raised over $3,000 for a fund that has as its express purpose to pay for the destruction of an innocent human life.

There are many negative things to be said about the moral bankruptcy of such a marketing and fundraising campaign, but your mind has already run through the list.  Even if you support “a woman’s right to choose,” have the human decency to treat it with some dignity.  Bowl-a-thon’s are for school field trips and frat house renovations, not serious medical procedures that take the lives of millions of babies and many of their mothers every single year.

Suffice to say, Rome is burning and the Abortion Industry is putting rosin to their bow . . . er . . . braces on their wrists?

By Kelly Clinger, 05/08/2012

Kelly Clinger (center) now shares her story as a spokesman for the "Silent No More" campaign.

Those are words I never thought I would say to my children. In fact, I was never going to tell them. I didn’t want to explain what abortion was much less tell them that their own mother had made such a terrible, sinful choice…TWICE.

When I was asked to be a spokesperson for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign toward the end of 2010, they wanted to be sure that my immediate family knew my past before I began traveling the country talking about it. Of course my husband knew most of the details (although more things surface as time goes on), but how was I going to tell my kids that I killed two of their siblings?

My daughter was 14 and my son was 8 at the time.  I didn’t want them to be disappointed in me. I didn’t want them to hate me. I didn’t want them to feel about me the way I felt about myself.

I sat the kids down on the couch and took a deep breath. I asked them if they knew what abortion was. My daughter said she had heard the word before but wasn’t sure what it was. My son was clueless. As I began to explain it, the horror was all over their faces. “How could anyone do that?” my son asked. He kept asking questions, but my daughter’s silence told me that she knew there was a reason I was talking to them about abortion.

I began to cry and said, “Mommy had two abortions 10 years ago. You have 2 siblings in heaven.”

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by Nathan A. Cherry, 05/08/2012

By now you know I don’t often repost entire articles. But this one is just too good not to pass on to you. This is the story of recent events in the Colorado State Legislature as they sought to honor Planned Parenthood for their “services.” Who in their right mind would ever consider honoring the nation’s #1 killer of children, I don’t know, but this story proves that God takes harming kids very seriously.

I’ve mentioned Gianna Jessen before, and her story is remarkable. In this article one Colorado state lawmaker decides she would be the perfect person to “ruin” the planned celebration of abortion by the legislature. Though the article is a little long, you won’t be sorry you read it.

Planned Parenthood Celebration Jolted by Abortion Survivor
By Ted Harvey

I want to share with you an awesome experience I had in the Colorado House of Representatives on May 8. It is a humbling experience to look back and realize that God used me to play a role in His divine orchestration.

I was leaving the House chambers for the weekend when our Democrat speaker of the House announced that the coming Monday would be the final day of this year’s General Assembly. He went on to state that there were still numerous resolutions on the calendar which we would need to be addressed prior to the summer adjournment. Interestingly, he specifically mentioned that one of the resolutions we would be hearing was being carried by the House Majority Leader Alice Madden, honoring the 90th anniversary of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

As a strong pro-life legislator I was disgusted by the idea that we would pass a resolution honoring this 90-year legacy of genocide. I drove home that night wondering what I could say that might pierce the darkness during the debate on this heinous resolution.

On Saturday morning, I took my 8-year-old son up to the mountains to go white-water rafting. The trip lasted all day. As we were driving home, exhausted and hungry, I remembered that I had accepted an invitation to attend a fundraising dinner that night for a local pro-life organization. One of my most respected mentors had personally called me several weeks earlier and asked me to attend, so I knew I’d have to clean up and head over.

After our meal, the executive director of the organization introduced the keynote speaker. I looked up and saw walking to the stage a handicapped young lady being assisted to the microphone by a young man holding a guitar.

Her name was Gianna Jessen.

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God has given government the authority to pass and enforce laws.  If the government fails to enforce its laws, a “whistleblower” can compel it to do so.

That’s exactly what Abby Johnson, Mike Norton, and the Alliance Defense Fund are doing by suing Planned Parenthood and the largest abortion clinic in the western hemisphere.

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My wife and I are unashamedly, politically pro-life.  We came to that conviction by logic, experience, and, most importantly, a theology that teaches that Christ, our Creator, creates every human life with dignity that is to be respected from the moment of conception to natural death.

If you attended the 2012 Gubernatorial Prayer Breakfast, you heard me announce that my wife and I were anticipating the arrival of our 4th child.  Unfortunately, over the weekend, my wife and I lost our child to a miscarriage.

In writing this post, I run the risk of pandering for political gain or of becoming unnecessarily melodramatic.  The former is simply not true and, I trust, if the latter be true, you will forgive me as one tinted by such pain.  We believe that we lost a child.  That loss is real.  That loss hurts.

We are, of course, not alone.  In fact, statistically speaking, we are right on par: 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage.  This was our 4th pregnancy.  I am thankful, in a sense, that God has kindly given us this experience in which we may now empathize more dearly with those who have or will miscarry.

And, without a doubt, this was our child.  By that, I mean, it was a child.  In all likelihood, this miscarriage was simply due to the fact that the embryo failed to implant.  Nonetheless, he or she had all the DNA he or she was going to have.  It was my son or daughter.  This was not a glob of cells and clearly not something to be cooly excised.  It was my child.

The process has moved me.  For me, it was a silent experience; for my wife, more painful.  Now that her physical pain has lessened, I can say that it has been a pleasure to serve my wife through this ordeal.  In that, it is proved what we often say that being pro-life is about more than a baby.  It’s about a family.  First, it was about a marriage.  I believe that my wife and I, through marriage, become one-flesh.  When she hurts, I hurt.  God is kind to allow us to experience such things in the comfort of the marital union.  His wisdom of uniting one man to one woman into one-flesh is tremendous and something to be trusted individually, encouraged by all, and celebrated publicly.

But, also, we have 3 sons who are 6, 4, and 19 months old.  They had rejoiced with us just a week ago at the prospect of becoming big brothers.  My exuberant 4-year old excitedly announced to everyone he met, “Mommy’s going to have a baby!”  Tonight, I’ll look into his blue eyes and tell him, “Not yet.”  And, then the questions – oh! I can only imagine what questions my curious sons might ask.  I will field each as ably as I can (which is to say, not very).  This is why God has given them to me.  I am their father.  He has graciously given me the task of teaching, rebuking, instructing, and loving my children.  With some trepidation, I look forward to fulfilling that role (and I welcome your prayers for it too).

Finally, if you’re like me, you’ve already had the metaphysical thought, “Where is my son or daughter?”

The truth is, I don’t know and I don’t need to know.  I serve Christ, the author and finisher of my salvation, the giver and taker of life.  As the sons I can see are, so are the children I do not: they belong to Christ and this Sovereign God can direct his Creation as he deems worthy.  In that, I take bold trust and pray that I might yet meet my son or daughter when Christ finally returns and undoes this world so affected by the Curse.

Until such time, we profess to be pro-life, not because it is politically expedient (or popular), but because Christ has imbued human life with dignity – even at the very early stages of that life.  Thus, we grieve.  Yet, we are not without hope.  We trust in Christ and His sovereign rule and that trust yields to hope through groaning for that day when this fallen world - and the visible effects thereof – will be turned aright.  We take comfort in the words of Paul to the Romans, chapter 8:

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

by Nathan A. Cherry, 04/30/2012

Planned Parenthood is one of the biggest bully’s I can think of; just ask Susan G. Komen. They want as much money to do as many abortions as possible, and they are willing to lie, steal, cheat, skirt the law and bully anyone that tries to stand in their way.

Well know they have some competition.

The new Stanton Health Care Clinic just moved in next door and is challenging the nation’s largest abortion merchant with real choice for women which includes caring workers, truth, and free services.

You simply must watch this video from CBN News or take a few moments to read this article on what is taking place in Boise, Idaho. The testimonies of people that work at Stanton and those that have already been touched by the life-saving work of the clinic will inspire you. And it will once again confirm that life is winning, and one day, I believe, we will see Planned Parenthood close its doors forever.

If the video doesn’t appear automatically, please refresh your browser.

Clinic Next Door Gets in Planned Parenthood’s Face

For years, Boise’s Planned Parenthood sat undisturbed and unchallenged in a quiet northern neighborhood. But in October, 2011, a new kid showed up on the block and presented a very big challenge.

The loud and proud pro-life Stanton Health Care Clinic moved in right next door to Planned Parenthood, posting big signs offering free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and other services that Planned Parenthood charges for.

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