Montgomery County Official Colluding With NARAL To Facilitate Murder Of Babies

Today LifeSiteNews revealed that they obtained proof that Maryland NARAL colluded with George Leventhal, Montgomery County Council president, in the County's legislative effort to cripple pro-life pregnancy centers.  The article links to a series of emails between Leventhal and Jodi Finkelstein, Maryland NARAL president.  I'd encourage you (particularly Montgomery County citizens) not only to read the emails but to download the pdf onto your own computers.

While the news is disgraceful, it is not at all surprising.  In December 2009 I recorded much of the hearing regarding the bill.  If you go to my archives  of that time period you'll see a whole collection of video.  One of those posts discusses the obvious bias of George Leventhal and his arrogance towards pro-life citizens who testified against the legislation.  Of course NARAL has endorsed him during election times, no doubt giving him lots of award and motivation for facilitating baby-murder.

But George Leventhal and his pro-abortion cronies aren't the only ones who are helping NARAL spill more babies' blood.  In one of her emails to Leventhal, Finkelstein outlined some strategies.  At least some of them were taken from a NARAL publication entitled "Choice Action Kit - Unmasking Fake Clinics - A Step By Step Guide".  It's a 56-page tome and I happen to have a copy.  On page 2 of this publication are some acknowledgements; one of those acknowledged is the Midwest Academy.  A woman named Helen Booth started it and is an unabashed leftist.  As I said in this post three years ago, her husband addressed a USCCB conference.  Consider: they aided and abetted NARAL in their misdeeds.  Why would the USCCB invite her or her husband to address Catholics?

We can also ask this question: why did the Catholic Campaign for Human Development ever deem the Midwest Academy worthy of a grant?  Here, courtesy of Michael Voris and company, is an expose of CCHD's underhanded practices.  In a nutshell, what all this means is that Catholic donors unwittingly funded pro-abortion attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers.

I would hope voters would remember this collusion during the 2018 elections.  However, Montgomery County is infested with progressive lemmings so I don't hold much hope.  Sadly I don't hold much more hope for the USCCB and its CCHD.  They both should be dismantled before they continue to sabotage the Church further.

Is The Montgomery County Government Itching For Another Legal Spanking?

Almost three weeks ago, the Germantown Reproductive Health Services was visited for the fourth time by an ambulance - actually, two in this case.  As with the other cases, a botched abortion job occasioned the visits from the ambulances.

Operation Rescue obtained some heavily redacted tapes pertaining to the 911 call that summoned the ambulances there.  They also obtained some rather odd prohibitions on use of public records.  OR president Troy Newman believes that Montgomery County Council's actions are part and parcel of an attempt to cover up yet another botch-job by Leroy Carhart.  Knowing the composition of the Montgomery County Council, I believe Newman's suspicions to be very reasonable.  Newman has had a track record of successful use of similar recordings in the past.  The Council probably knows this and are trying to circle their wagons.

I truly hope that the Council sees the light of day and orders Michael Baltrotsky, Operations Supervisor of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, to cease and desist any action against Newman.  I believe neither he nor the Council has any legals grounds on which to stand.  Given their most recent defeat with the pregnancy center law (costing the county quite a pretty penny), can they afford to have more egg on their faces - especially before the November elections?

Montgomery County Council Must Pay The Proverbial Piper

Last week I wrote how the rather obtuse Baltimore City Council was harassing four pro-life organizations.  I had opined that they should take a lesson from their Montgomery County counterparts and quit while they still can.  Well, comes now the news that the Montgomery County Council has to pay a pretty penny for their little escapade against the pro-life centers - to the tune of $375,000.00!  Details from LifeNews.

Perhaps Baltimore and other locales who are implementing the NARAL-dictated strategy (as detailed in their "Unmasking Fake Clinics" booklet) might want to reconsider their malicious attacks on the First Amendment rights of those who only endeavor to give real life-affirming assistance to mothers and babes in need.  Taxpayers who are upset about this payout order might consider what their elected officials were doing when they attempted to twist the speech of pro-life advocates; that was a waste of their tax dollars if nothing else.

God is good!

Baltimore City Council Draws Long Knives For Pro-Life Groups

Last month the Montgomery County Council gave up its ridiculous attempt to force gag regulations on the pro-life pregnancy centers in the county.  Mind you, they had to endure a few legal smack-downs and they witnessed what was happening to other localities across the nation that attempted to follow the NARAL playbook.

It seems that the City of Baltimore is being just a bit more stubborn and obtuse than their compatriots of Montgomery County.  In their ongoing quest to satisfy their sources of money, the Baltimore City Council has demanded that four pro-life organizations surrender their private files to their viewing. It filed a subpoena for that purpose.  Alliance Defending Freedom has come to the aid of these pro-life groups with a motion to quash the subpoena.  The four pro-life groups being threatened are: Heartbeat International, Care Net, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, and the Vitae Foundation.

It is election time in Maryland.  The pro-aborts on the City Council probably want to convince their puppet masters that they deserve to be kept on the Council.  Will the citizens of Baltimore City finally wake up and give them their walking papers?  Even if not, we hope that the council will acknowledge what has been happening with that legislation nation-wide and, as did their Montgomery County counterparts, decide to give it a rest.

Two Legal Victories - One National, One Local

Both are significant to us, particularly to those who labor in pro-life arenas.  First, I'll relay the national news.

The last nail has been pounded into the coffin of the 28-year-old case known as NOW vs Scheidler.  This case has been to the Supreme Court three times - all three times the rulings have been in Scheidler's favor.  The Thomas More Society has been assisting Scheidler all along and they have a report.  They've also racked up some legal costs during these past two decades.  A few days ago, the Seventh Circuit Court ruled that the plaintiffs must cover the costs that had been awarded to the defendants - a little over $63k.

This one is definitely closer to home, but still has much national impact on the pro-life effort.  In 2009, the Montgomery County Council (many of the members effectively owned by NARAL) passed a NARAL-inspired piece of unconstitutional legislation aimed solely at crippling the efforts of pro-life pregnancy centers.  In December 2009 I spent much time blogging about the hearings.  One of the pregnancy centers, Centro Tepeyak of Silver Spring, took the lead in filing legal challenge.  They were assisted by Alliance Defending Freedom.  As in the Scheidler case above, several court rulings had been decided in favor of the pro-life side.  Finally Montgomery County saw the light, realized it just couldn't win and decided to give up its obviously futile effort.

By the way - in reference to the Montgomery County affair, I remind all Montgomery County citizens that every one of these council members is up for reelection this November.  Since so many of them show a disdain for the Constitution that they promised to uphold, it's time to give them their pink slips next Election Day.

Tonight's Dog-And-Pony Show

My blogging colleague An Archdiocese of Washington Catholic commented on the forum for the Montgomery County Executive candidates being held as I write this.  He's right.  The areas of focus are "soft-ball" matters.  The "Justice and Advocacy Council of Montgomery County" (an arm of the Archdiocese of Washington, I believe) refuse to allow discussion of issues that have real moral substance.

Interestingly enough, the flyer that appeared in the parish bulletins didn't even list the names of the four candidates.  There is a reason.  First, pro-abortion "katholyc" Doug Duncan is running again.  Second, pro-abortion Ike Leggett, who helped ram through the bill four years ago that was designed to cripple pro-life pregnancy centers is also running.  Phil Andrews is also pro-choice, although to his credit, he opposed that pregnancy center gag bill.  The GOP candidate, Jim Shalleck, is pro-life (I believe).  So there you have it: this "council" did not want faithful Catholics to know that they were providing rabid pro-abortion candidates a platform (St Jude's in Rockville, to be precise) so that they could come off smelling like roses, given the namby-pamby subject matter being spoon-fed to them.

I was at a similar forum four years ago (at St Jane de Chantal).  It was a complete waste of time.  Again there were the morally-neutral issues being bandied about.  There was no opportunity for audience questioning or input.  All they wanted were warm bodies in the audience so that they could brag about the "valuable service" they were affording to Catholic voters.  Tonight I decided I was not going to waste my time just so I could increase their "body count".  I certainly hope the attendance was paltry.  Maybe then the Archdiocese of Washington will learn that faithful Catholics will not be stage props to aid and abet their kiss-ups to the progressive pols that do dominate Montgomery County.

Montgomery County CPC Gag Law Killed In Its Entirety

I remember the deliberations over this in 2009 (I blogged on it then).  It was unconstitutional and it was clear that the majority of the Montgomery County Council were simply doing the bidding of their sugar-daddies and money bags.  This move was literally out of a NARAL playbook (and I have a copy of it, too!).

Comes now the news (from LifeNews) that a federal court today put the final kibosh on it.  The ruling notes that the bill was an affront against the First Amendment.

Congratulations and thanks to the Centro Tepeyak Pregnancy Center, along with Alliance Defending Freedom.  They were the lead plaintiff in this case and they - and all of us - prevailed.  Of course this can only have good ramifications for other localities that are fighting this NARAL-spawned poison.

Centro Tepeyak Versus Montgomery County

In December of 2009 I posted on hearings held in Montgomery County as the County Council members prepared to do the bidding of their NARAL funders with the passage of the NARAL-orchestrated legislative initiative to hamper the work of the pro-life pregnancy centers.  In Baltimore and Montgomery County the measure passed, but in both cases courts issued injunctions preventing implementation until further review.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit will be reviewing the matter of Centro Tepeyak versus Montgomery County.  (See the docket here)  ADF attorneys will be presenting arguments in Richmond tomorrow (Thursday Dec 6).  Similar measures passed in other areas (again, orchestrated by NARAL) have been declared unconstitutional.  Please pray for a similar outcome here.

Montgomery County CPC Rule - Unconstitutional!

Not all court rulings last week were nonsensical!  Last week the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw the Montgomery County cpc "disclaimer" rule into the dung heap where it belongs.

The Montgomery County Council, following the script dictated to them by NARAL, tried to violate the free-speech rights of pro-life volunteers by passing legislation - literally out of the NARAL playbook.  The first hearings were conducted in December 2009.  I reported extensively on them at that time, using many video and audio clips of the same.  Since over half of the council members at that time were NARAL-endorsed, no  one really doubted that the measure would pass.

Centro Tepeyak Pregnancy Center in Silver Spring MD took the lead in taking the thing to court.  Their efforts paid off.  By the way, the same ordinance passed in Baltimore City also went down in flames.

As you read the Post blog piece, note some of the comments.  Even those who consider themselves "pro-choice" understand the draconian nature of what the local legislatures tried to do.  Hopefully they'll think things through some more and will come to realize that the pro-baby-murder tyrannical mindset can't help but manifest itself in other facets of life and human interactions.

Yoo Hoo! Montgomery County Council! Wakey-Wakey!

To the Montgomery County Council.  In December 2009, you passed your version of the Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Strangulation Bill.  Although you are undoubtedly playing cool and coy, you have been served notice of what the pro-life lawyers had tried to tell you during the hearings - that the measure is patently unconstitutional, a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

A few days ago, Judge Marvin Garbis threw Baltimore's regulations into the legislative dung heap for that very reason.  With the kind permission of Mr. John Naughton, I'm going to reproduce his letter to you below.  As the letter and my following commentary are lengthy, I'll put the break now.

Baltimore Anti-Pregnancy Center Law Declared Unconstitutional

From today's Christian Newswire, we read that the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland found the Baltimore City law requiring signage in pro-life pregnancy centers to be unconstitutional.  The case is Archbishop of Baltimore et al. v. City of Baltimore et al.  In his opinion, Judge Garbis stated "the Government cannot, consistent with the First Amendment, require a 'pro-life' pregnancy-related service center to post a sign as would be required by the Ordinance."  He also referred to the ordinance as "viewpoint-based discrimination".

A similar suit is in progress regarding the ordinance as it was enacted in Montgomery County last year.  Today Judge Garbis's ruling bodes well for the Montgomery County pregnancy centers, as well as pregnancy centers all over the country.  We illustrated last year how these ordinances were part of a coordinated campaign by NARAL to stifle the pregnancy centers so that abortionists' blood-money revenue wouldn't dry up.

Voters' Guides - Why Reinvent The Wheel?

Sometimes the pro-abort websites are good for something - their voters' guides, for instance.  For us, they give us clear indications of those candidates who are entirely unacceptable to us.

For instance, here is NARAL's Voters's Guide.  You can click on your state to see who's running for Federal office in your state.

At the Montgomery County level, we have the Montgomery County Education Association's Apple Ballot Recommendations.  Again, this is a great list of folks for whom you do NOT want to vote.  If you want further information that exposes the leftist agenda of the MCEA, go to http://rottenappleballot.com/ and http://www.mcpscurriculum.com/rotten_apples.shtml.  The MCEA is a chapter of the National Education Association.  To get a gander of what the NEA considers "pressing policies" (none of them having to do with the education of children), go here.

For a list of positive endorsements, here is MD Right to Life's list.  I cannot vouch for the rest of the state, but as far as Montgomery County is concerned, I concur, with one addendum.  They endorse only a few for the Montgomery County Council.  I would say vote for those, but in addtion, we want to rid the Council of all incumbents.  Thus, if you see an incumbent versus someone not on the MDRTL list, please vote out the incumbent.

If any colleagues in other localities have input into other city or county elections, please advise.

The Oligarchy of Montgomery County MD

Do you remember the post from Sunday regarding various forms of government and their relevance to the USA?  The below email from Maryland Citizens for a Responsble Government details what happens when those in elected office think and act as though they're above the law under which we all live.  Some background: two years ago, the Montgomery County Council passed a "transgender rights" bill that infringes upon the rights of others to be safe in public places, e.g. rest rooms, showers, etc.  Many of us, led by MCRG, engaged in a petition drive to bring the measure to referendum.  A chief legislative aide to the bill's main sponsor is under investigation for allegedly intimidating petition gatherers and signers during the drive.  Now the aide and the bill sponsor are claiming "legislative privilege" in refusing to answer ethics questions.

Centro Tepeyac Sues Montgomery County Over CPC Strangulation Bill

With assistance from the Alliance Defense Fund, Centro Tepeyac Pregnancy Center of Silver Spring filed suit on account of the pregnancy center "regulation" bill that the Montogmery County Council passed several months ago by a 7-2 vote.  Lifenews relates more detail on the suit.

The council held a public hearing on December 1, 2009.  I attended it and recorded it.  Several snippets of that recording are posted on this blog.  I invite you to go back and review the clips and related information.

As additional developments become known to me, I will post them here.  Please pray that truth and justice prevail, and that the pregnancy centers can save babies and mothers unfettered by the pro-death elements within our government.

Montgomery County Council Votes to Stifle Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers

Today the County Council issued a press release announcing that it voted to pass the superficially-amended assault on the county's four pro-life pregnancy centers.  Seven of the nine council members voted for it; Phil Andrews and Mike Knapp opposed it.  (Please thank them)

To be honest, I knew this would probably happen since most of the council openly supports MD NARAL and lent their names to the NARAL program.  Oh, by the way!  In earlier posts, I provided a link to the MD Democrat site that had posted that program so you could see it for yourselves.  Well, by golly, it has...disappeared!!!   Aren't these strange and mysterious times in which we live?   My, my!  Fortunately a columnist at Newsbusters, Ken Shepherd, listed them: Trachtenberg, Berliner, Navarro, Ervin and Leventhal are the 5 councilmembers who sponsored NARAL.  Since County Executive Ike Leggett also sponsored NARAL, he most certainly will affix his signature.

Folks, November 2010 will soon be here!

Montgomery County Council Puts Lipstick on a Rattlesnake

In the January 27th issue of the Gazette (page B-1 of the Gaithersburg edition and linked here), we read that Leventhal et al "amended" their "gag the pro-life centers" bill.  But.. did they really??

The very first sentence of this article is most revelatory of the Council's dubious motives.  It reads and I quote, "Anti-abortion pregnancy centers no longer are singled out under a bill being considered by the Montgomery County Council that requires pregnancy centers to warn women if they are not being advised by medical professionals."  Note that it says that the pregnancy centers "no longer are singled out."   That adverbial phrase "no longer" makes quite plain that at one time, they most certainly were singled out, and intentionally so.  I believe they still are, knowing this cabal.  Also note the use of this word "warn".  When I think of that word, I think of danger.  There's no danger posed by the pro-life centers.  All women who've walkded into the pregnancy centers in this county have walked out by their own power.  The same cannot be said for this county's abortion centers.  I of course speak of the Potomac Family Planning Center where Jennifer Hallner died as a result of the lack of proper medical equipment to revive her.  Dr. Earl McLeod was disciplined.  I wonder if part of the discipline required that he post a sign warning women of his chequered track record.  I suspect not.

Now here's a curious paragraph.  "Montgomery County has four anti-abortion pregnancy centers that originally were targeted by the bill, including the Rockville Pregnancy Center, which is a licensed medical clinic. The Rockville center would be excluded from both versions of the bill."  Besides the clear admission that the pro-life centers were targeted, the two sentences contradict each other.  The first sentence says that Rockville Pregnancy Center was in the Council's cross-hairs.  The second says that it wasn't.  During the hearings, there was considerable squirming about that question, particularly on the part of Trachtenberg.  You can hear some of that on previous posting of this blog.

So why does the Council want to pass this bill at all?  Jackie Stippich, director of Shady Grove Pregnancy Center, correctly states that no complaint has ever been lodged by a client - a real client that is, and not just some NARAL volunteer who obviously has her own bias.  Speaking of bias, plenty of it has been demonstrated on this blog.  Leventhal's statement regarding objections to this bill is a dismissive and condescending "They resent it."  Well, let's take a look at Leventhal's behavior during the December 1st hearings.  Please go to http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com/2010/01/continuation-of-reports-on-montgomery.html and see how he blatantly attempts to twist the testimony of a pregnancy center volunteer.  Earlier in the evening he pooh-poohed the idea of touring a pro-life center, stating that he wouldn't be presented with a fair picture of how one operates.  In other words, he called these good people liars.  But perhaps it is he who is not being up front about his own arguable conflicts of interests.  Quite frankly, the Gazette article is curiously silent about that matter as well.  However, let me elaborate below.

The Maryland NARAL puts on a fundraising gala every October, usually in Rockville.  Their lists of sponsors is online here.  There are lots of familiar names, including those of George Leventhal and Duchy Tractenberg.  Moreover, Tractenberg, who originally introduced the bill, is a past president of Maryland NOW.  Ladies and gentlemen, can we say "conflict of interest big time"?  I daresay we can.

This so-called "amended" bill is scheduled for a vote.  Please continue to contact the council here and tell them "NO".

Montgomery County Council - Testimony From Painful Experience

Some of the more heartbreaking testimonies were from those women who had abortions and wished that they had encountered a crisis pregancy center before their most tragic decisions. 

Please listen to this clip.  First you'll hear Dr. Jennifer Todd speak in support of the strangulation bill.  You'll hear her repeat incessantly how much harm "barriers" can do to women who need medical (not prenatal!) care.  The implication, of course, is that the information offered by the pregnancy centers constitutes "barriers" to the women, if not the very presence of the centers themselves.

After Todd, you'll hear Maria Brazda (pictured above) share her sad story and how she wishes there was such a "barrier" in her life thirty years ago, a "barrier" that might have shown her another way than the abortion that she had.  You'll also hear how she treasured her time as a volunteer at Shady Grove Pregnancy Center, and her high regard for its director, Jackie Stippich.  She makes a point of relating how the women who had come to Shady Grove from Planned Parenthood reported that they were given no information at the Planned Parenthood regarding fetal development.  Ms. Brazda decided herself to go to a NARAL office nearby to ask them if they relayed any details about fetal development.  When she asked the question, she was immediately escorted out the door; it seems that she was physically thrown out.  So much for "compassionate care" on the part of abortion providers! 

Now mind you, the same folks who seemed to have bodily evicted Ms Brazda from their office have deemed over half of the Council members as "partners of choice!"  Isn't that just - well - special??

Abortion-Breast Cancer Link Verified Yet Again!

Dr. Louise Brinton, the U.S. National Cancer Institute whose 2003 workshop opined that "abortion is not associated with breast cancer risk" has reversed her position.  She has so stated in an April 2009 study of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.  More detals can be found here while the study abstract can be found here.

All throughout the December 1st Council hearings, the pro-abortion proponents of the cpc strangulation bill bloviated about how the pregnancy centers were spreading "false information" about increased breast cancer risks.  One of them had the laughable chutzpah to cite National Abortion Federation as a supposedly unbiased source of information.  It now turns out that Dr. Brinton et al are corroborating the information being presented by the pregnancy centers.  It now turns out that the abortion centers are the ones who may well be promulgating incorrect information about the abortion/breast cancer relationship.  However, if they dared to tell the truth about that, they'd stand to lose abortion revenues, wouldn't they?  But isn't that what this attempt to stifle pregnancy centers is about?   The protection of the abortionists' money flow at the expense of women and babies?

After Signing Their CPC Hate Bill, Baltimore's Mayor Compelled to Resign!

Remember last month, when I speculated why Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon was in such a rush to sign their cpc strangulation bill?  Refresh your memories here.  I stated the very real possibility at that time that Her Honor (?) might be removed from office and/or imprisoned for stealing. 

Read this update that just came out today.  It appears that some deals have been cut.  While she's not going to prison, she is leaving office.  There are more conditions, listed in that article.  I needn't re-elaborate them here.  However, I will point out that pro-abortion sympathies, that is, callousness towards unborn babies lead to immorality in other facets of life.  I believe in this instance the mayor was misappropriating money meant for needy children.  Makes sense, doesn't it?  If she'll turn her back on the unborn, why not on those who are just a few years older?

We certainly see this sort of scenario being played out in Washington, don't we?  With this pregnancy center strangulation attempt, who knows what corruption lurks in Rockville?  I think we've already seen evidence of that.

Lawyers Testify at Montgomery County Council Hearings

We will listen to the testimony of Kim Fiorentino, an attorney who highlights some violations of the US Constitution First Amendment that are inherent in the Council's attempt to suppress the pro-life pregnancy centers.  She points out that the Constituion prohibits viewpoint-coerced speech.  She then goes on to state that there is no compelling interest to enact this legislation, as no harmful activity on the part of the pregnancy centers has been demonstrated.  I suppose the Councilmembers/"Partners of Choice" have different perspectives, as the pregnancy centers, every time they snatch a mother and child from the clutches of the abortionists, put pains in the purses of the abortionists, and thus in the coffers of NARAL, who undoubtedly receives many a blood-money donation from these abortionists.  Please listen to Ms. Fiorentino's testimony here.

We now hear from Ann O'Connor.  A little bit earlier, Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg, the primary sponsor of this bill (and a former NOW official) made the claim that Rockville Pregnancy Center would be exempt from this regulation, due to its retention of trained medical volunteers.  Ms. O'Connor makes plain in her testimony that the language of this regulation still renders RPC vulnerable.   Did Ms. O'Connor expose a bit of double-talk?  Please form your own opinion as you listen to her testimony here.