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March 5, 2012
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"Abortion debate may hit Wisconsin roadways" with Choose Life license plates


From the Cap Times:
Driving with an anti-abortion message is a great way to drive the anti-abortion message.

At least according to Rep. Andre Jacque, R-Bellevue, who has introduced legislation that would allow Wisconsin motorists the option of paying extra for a "Choose Life" license plate.

The freshman lawmaker says the plate he is proposing is no different than the dozens of other specialty plates currently available, including ones that celebrate the Packers, Harley Davidson or the Freemasons.

But it’s not just the message he is after. His bill would have the extra money that people pay for the specialty plate go to an organization, Choose Life Wisconsin, a chapter of the national group Choose Life America, which began the push for such license plates 15 years ago in Florida.

According to Jacque, Choose Life directs the money to centers that offer pre-natal and adoption assistance to pregnant women. He says in Florida the plates raise over $750,000 for such programs.

“I had some individuals reach out to me since I had been the leader of establishing October 2011 as ‘Pregnancy Care Month,’” he explains. That resolution recognized groups that provide counseling and other support to women with unplanned pregnancies, such as facilitating adoption.

The practice of using specialty plates to fund outside groups is not new, Jacque points out. For instance, the $25-per-year extra motorists pay for a Packers plate goes to fund maintenance of Lambeau Field.

Wisconsin would become the 26th state that offers a Choose Life license plate if Jacque’s bill is approved. The effort, which first succeeded in Florida, has spread to almost all other southern states, as well as many others, including liberal-leaning states such as Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Unsurprisingly, the pro-choice crowd is striking back. Two Democrats, including Madison Rep. Chris Taylor, a former Planned Parenthood executive, have introduced a bill to create a license plate that would direct funds to her former employer.

“We’ve seen so many attacks on family planning ... and why shouldn’t consumers have an opportunity to support Planned Parenthood?” she says. “At least Planned Parenthood provides vital health care services.”

In contrast, she says, Choose Life Wisconsin is still in the process of being set up. Indeed, the group does not even have a website yet. Right now, the Choose Life America site lists representatives of two conservative groups -- Wisconsin Family Action and Pro-Life Wisconsin -- as the contacts for the Choose Life Wisconsin effort.

Click here to read more.

It will cost up to $15,000 to make Choose Life Wisconsin license plates a reality. Click here to help us reach that goal.

Register online now to see David Bereit speak!


David Bereit, the founder of 40 Days for Life, will be speaking at two Pro-Life Wisconsin events!

We are hosting an "Evening with David Bereit" in Madison on Thursday, April 26. Register online here.

David will be the keynote speaker at our Annual Spring Awards Dinner, to be held Saturday, April 28 in Green Bay. Register online here.

We will be presenting awards for the Legislator and the Activist of the Year at the Spring Awards Dinner. Rep. Andre Jacque will be receiving the Legislator of the Year award. Jim Ball, leader of 40 Days for Life in Green Bay and pro-life activist extraordinaire, will be receiving the Activist of the Year award. Join us in honoring these great pro-life men!

Register today for these can't-miss events! David is a dynamic speaker with a very inspiring story to share about how 40 Days for Life has made a pro-life impact around the world.

Conscience rights amendment fails in U.S. Senate, seven states file suit


On Thursday the United States Senate voted against an amendment that would have remedied the Obama Administration’s egregious violations of our federal and state constitutional conscience rights. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) offered Senate Amendment No. 1520 to S. 1813, the highway authorization bill, to protect the right to religious liberty against the Obamacare rule mandating that religious institutions provide coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives, and sterilization. The Blunt Amendment was defeated on a bi-partisan 51 to 48 vote by adoption of a motion to table, or kill, the measure.

Three Democrats voted with Republicans for the amendment: Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. The only Republican to vote against the amendment was Olympia Snowe of Maine who recently announced her retirement. Wisconsin’s senators were split on the amendment with Ron Johnson voting in support and Herb Kohl voting against.  Pro-Life Wisconsin thanks Ron Johnson for standing up for the conscience rights of pro-life Americans.

Speaking in support of the amendment, Republican Senator Orin Hatch of Utah said that “…our Constitution demands that those individuals and institutions that object to providing these services on religious and moral grounds be protected.” Hatch added that “under this administration, our Bill of Rights has been subordinated to President Obama’s desire to micromanage the nation’s health care system.”

The Blunt Amendment mirrors the language in the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (S. 1467) authored by Senator Blunt. The stated purpose of the act is to ensure that those participating in the health care system “retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions, without fear of being penalized or discriminated against….” The Blunt Amendment overrides the Obamacare mandate noting that, until the enactment of the Obamacare statute in 2010, “the Federal Government has not sought to impose specific coverage or care requirements that infringe on the rights of conscience . . . .” 

The good news is that the attorneys general of seven states – Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas – have filed suit to block the Obamacare mandate. Two private plaintiffs, Catholic Social Services and the Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, have joined the states’ suit. Click here for the full story. 


Marquette prof gives thanks to Planned Parenthood in new book


Marquette prof Dan McGuire has a new book out… titled “Whose Church? A Concise Guide to Progressive Catholicism.” Maguire is an emeritus member of the board of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and is openly pro-abortion. As his official Marquette University bio shows, he is a professor in the university's theology department.

Excerpt of a book review from the New Oxford Review:
There are many shepherds today who act like sheep, along with many wolves who pose as shepherds. Daniel Maguire is a case in point. In Whose Church? A Concise Guide to Progressive Catholicism, the ethics professor from Marquette University poses as a shepherd guiding us to an alternative Catholic Church, one that can exist without a pope and bishops.

Let’s start with Maguire’s acknowledgments: He gives abject thanks to Planned Parenthood for lavishing “awards” on him and inviting him to present “keynote addresses at the annual events of at least a third of their 130 affiliates.” Oh, how he loves them: “Being with them has always infused the blood of hope into my veins.” Yes, the blood of hope. Well, that group indeed has a lot of blood to spare, since it is up to its neck in it. It’s definitely not “the blood of hope,” however, but the blood that crieth to Heaven from the earth (Gen. 4). Then Maguire gives an accolade to Mar­quette (run by the Jesuits) for defending his academic freedom “almost perfectly” for 35 years. What this implies is that they defended his “freedom” to teach the opposite of the Church’s moral theology, as he has done, on contraception, masturbation, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, abortion, and embryonic stem-cell research.

He instructs the bishops that on abortion, too, they are not as Catholic as he is: “The Roman Catholic position on abortion is pluralistic and always has been.” Of course, this is a downright lie, but it is one that Maguire has repeated for several decades, with impunity. The difference here is that he is boldly shoving it down the bishops’ throats by saying that “if bishops don’t know that, there is a cure for their ignorance: they can be sent back to school.” What school? In his book he refers favorably to Daniel Dom­browski and Robert Deltete of the Jesuit University of Seattle, who promote the myth of a “pluralistic” Catholic tradition on abortion.

Click here to read the rest.

Pro-life news wrap-up


- One Couple’s Story: The moral shipwreck of in vitro fertilization. Read more here.

- Obama agency rules Pepsi use of aborted fetus is “ordinary business”. Read more here.

- ‘Cookies for Life’: 10-year-old ex-Girl Scout raises thousands for pro-life with home-baked cookies. Read more here.

- Study: Almost half of Catholic hospitals perform sterilizations. Read more here.

- Georgetown co-ed: Please pay for us to have sex … We’re going broke buying birth control. Read more here.

Affiliate activities


PLW affiliates are involved in 40 Days for Life this spring. Cities include Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Medford, Milwaukee, Stevens Point and Wausau. Contact PLW at (262) 796-1111 or email info@prolifewisconsin.org to get involved!

Pro-Life Wisconsin Walworth Co. prays at Planned Parenthood in Delavan, WI. Signs are provided. Contact Phil Cullen for info - 262-742-3299.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Juneau County gathers for prayer witness every Monday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Family Planning Health Services, 522 State Road 82 # F, in Mauston. Please call Richard Irwin, (608) 565-6706, for more information. They meet every second Tuesday of the month at the Hatch Public Library in Mauston at 7 p.m. in the Community Room.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Marathon County prays the Rosary once a month on Saturday at 10:45 a.m. at Family Planning Health Services. Call Ron Putzer at (715) 842-5368 to confirm date.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Fond du Lac County prays in front of Planned Parenthood, 333 N. Peters Ave., Fond du Lac, on the second Saturday of the month from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. During 40 Days For Life which begins February 22,  we will be Bringing Jesus to Planned Parenthood Through Mary on Tuesdays 7:00 am to 3:00 pm and Thursdays 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. For information, call Ann at (920) 921-6062 or Julie (920) 923-0437. A pro-life Rosary is also said at 8:30 a.m. before the 9 a.m. Mass each Saturday at St. Mary's Church, Marquette St. at E. Merrill Ave., Fond du Lac.

Vigil for Life-PLW Dane County has a perpetual presence on the sidewalks in front of Madison's Planned Parenthood abortion facility (3706 Orin Road, Madison, WI 53704). Each day that Planned Parenthood is open for business (every week day), 2 people (at least!) will be scheduled to be present on the sidewalk. The times and days are as follows: Monday-Wednesday: 9 a.m. - 11 a.m.; Thursday 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.; and Friday, 1pm - 3pm. Individuals or groups are needed to sign up for these 2-hour shifts, especially on a monthly basis. You may also "stop by." Those interested should click here to view the online scheduling calendar or contact affiliate leader Laura Karlen at (608) 445-2064 or email laura@vigilforlife.org.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Chippewa Valley prays and gives public witness against abortion and contraception outside the Eau Claire Planned Parenthood (1231 Menomonie St.) every Thursday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and the first Saturday of the month at 11 a.m.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Milwaukee County gathers regularly on Saturday mornings at the Affiliated abortion center, 1428 N. Farwell Ave. in Milwaukee, between 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. SIDEWALK COUNSELORS ARE NEEDED! If you can come pray or counsel women entering the abortuary, please contact Peggy Hamill, (262) 796-1111, or e-mail info@prolifewisconsin.org for more information.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Outagamie County invites you to love your preborn neighbor as yourself, by going out to the places where abortions are sold and committed. Please plan to come and sidewalk counsel (beside the driveway), pray and witness with signs at Planned Parenthood Appleton North on 3800 N. Gillett St.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Waukesha County will join other pro-lifers for monthly prayer in front of the Planned Parenthood in Waukesha, 426 W. Main St. Prayer gatherings will be held the fourth Saturday of every month at 10 a.m.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Kenosha has consecrated our fight against Planned Parenthood to Jesus through Mary. We pray every Saturday at 11 a.m. in front of the Planned Parenthood facility, located at Roosevelt Road and 36th Avenue in Kenosha. Please come and pray the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and other prayers with us. For more information contact Karie Kinzler at kakinzler7@yahoo.com or at (262) 656-0301.

Please join Pro-Life Wisconsin Racine for a prayer vigil every Wednesday from 11 a.m. until noon at the Racine Planned Parenthood, 832 Main St. All are welcome to join with your presence or your prayers.

Courtesy announcements


Kneel for Life: Capitol Campaign meets Wednesdays at the Capitol from 1-2pm. We try to precede with Mass at St. Patrick's at 12:10, then we walk over from there. Our purpose is to be a peaceful, joyful presence praying to tear down the evil strongholds present there and be an encouragement for the pro-life legislators/staff. We pray the Rosary, Chaplet of Mercy and St. Michael prayer as we walk in twos or independently, throughout the Capitol.

Rachel's Vineyard Weekend Retreats offer Hope and Healing to anyone hurting emotionally and spiritually from abortion. Our next retreat will be March 23 - 25. All contact is confidential. To register or to ask questions go to www.madisondiocese.org/rachel or call Mary (608) 221-9593 or (608) 821-3177; email rachel@straphael.org.

The third Monday of every month All Saints Catholic Church in Berlin says a Rosary for life at the church's monument for the unborn after a 5:15p.m. Mass. Everyone welcome.

Pro-lifers pray the Rosary every Thursday evening at 6 p.m. at the West Bend Planned Parenthood, 532 Shepherd’s Drive, West Bend, WI. Located on the West end of town, approximately 1-1/2 miles west of Hwy 45 on West Washington Street (aka: Highway 33) in West Bend. It is in a shopping mall on the north-side of the street. We are on the sidewalk.

Holy Hour for the Unborn: St. John the Evangelist Parish, 8500 W. Cold Spring Rd., Greenfield, Wis. We come together every fourth Wednesday of the month from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. to pray for the end of abortion. The church has 24 hours of Adoration seven days a week. Contact Kathy Knaack with questions, Kathy.knaack@gmail.com.

Cenacles of Life meets every Saturday morning at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Cambridge at 8:30 am to pray two rosaries for an end to the culture of death.

Cenacles of Life meets at St Mary’s Good Shepherd Chapel, 108 McHenry St, Burlington, WI every Wednesday at 6 p.m., and recites the second oral Rosary in the main body of the church, finishing at 7:15 p.m.

Cenacles of Life meets every Saturday morning at 6:45 a.m. to pray two Rosaries for pro-life intentions before the 7:30 a.m. Mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Pine Bluff, west of Madison.

The Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe has a prayer vigil every Monday at 4:30 p.m. in Wisconsin Rapids on 8th St. by the Shopko mall to pray for the closing of the Planned Parenthood. If you have any questions contact Will Goodman at (608) 698-7443.

The Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe has a prayer vigil every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Stevens Point in front of the strip mall next to Family Video to pray for the closing of Family Planning Health Services. If you have any questions contact Jen Dunnett at (715) 340-2779.

If you enjoy receiving the Monday Update every week, please consider donating to Pro-Life Wisconsin’s life-saving work. For your convenience, credit card donations are accepted by phone, (262) 796-1111 or toll-free (877) GOD’S WILL or use our secure online donation form. Thank you for your generosity!