Massachusetts Pro-Lifers Rally Against Bill to Legalize Abortions Up to Birth, Allow Infanticide

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Nov 8, 2019   |   3:20PM   |   Boston, Massachusetts

Massachusetts citizens gathered in the state capital last week to urge lawmakers to protect unborn babies and mothers from abortion.

The annual event, organized by pro-life organizations in the state, raised awareness about a radical pro-abortion bill in the state legislature and the devastating effects it could have on mothers and unborn babies, The Boston Pilot reports.

The R.O.E. Act (House Bill 3320/Senate Bill 1209) would legalize abortions for basically any reason up to birth. Though the bill technically restricts abortions after 24 weeks, it allows wide exceptions for abortions after that point. The bill also would allow infanticide by repealing a state law that requires basic medical care for viable infants who survive abortions.

“Today, my message to all of you and to legislators or media who might be listening (is): read this bill,” said Myrna Flynn, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life.

She said a lot of people do not understand just how extreme the bill is, including elected officials.

Addressing a recent pro-abortion campaign called “We Can Do Better” urging support of the bill, Flynn said: “There’s one thing about the campaign that I agree with: We can do better. We must do better. But, legislators, if you happen to be hearing this right now, the R.O.E. Act is not the way to serve your constituents.”

Here’s more from the report:

She pointed out that the ROE Act would eliminate section 12P, which requires that life support be available in rooms where abortions are performed and that physicians work to save the lives of infants who survive abortion procedures. Under the ROE Act, an abortion survivor’s medical care would not be guaranteed, meaning the baby could legally be left to die. Flynn noted that this issue is not usually addressed by abortion promoters, and that at that point babies are independent from their mothers.

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“Saving the life of those independent humans cannot interfere with reproductive rights (because) the mothers’ bodies are no longer involved. There is no longer any conflict between the right to life and the right to choose. There is only our moral obligation to protect every citizen of this commonwealth, especially those who would die without our help,” Flynn said.

Several pregnancy resource center leaders also spoke at the rally about the support that they provide to mothers and babies in need, according to the report. Most pregnancy resource centers provide free counseling, pregnancy tests, diapers, baby clothes, parenting classes and other materials to help struggling families.

It is the kind of support that abortion survivor Claire Culwell said she wishes her mother would have had. Sharing her story at the rally, Culwell said her birth mother was just 13 when she became pregnant. She said no one realized that she was pregnant with twins when she had the abortion, and Claire survived. She said her mother still is deeply traumatized by the abortion.

“When I see people celebrating a woman’s right to choose, I think, what about me? What was my choice as a woman? What about my mother as a 13-year-old little girl who just needed someone to stand up for her? What about us? Do they not see us?” Culwell said.

Massachusetts pro-lifers are working in many ways to protect people like Culwell, her mother and others from the devastation of abortion.

Bill Gillmeister, executive director of Renew Massachusetts Coalition, said they have a petition against the R.O.E. Act on their website. He said they also have a second petition to amend the state constitution to stop taxpayer-funded abortions in the state, according to the report. Find the petitions here.

If the R.O.E. Act passes, Massachusetts could join New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Illinois in allowing unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth. Pro-life advocates are concerned that a similar bill could pass in Virginia next winter after Democrats won control of both state houses in the November election.

ACTION: Contact Massachusetts state lawmakers and urge opposition to House Bill 3320/Senate Bill 1209.