Protecting Life In North Carolina

This is family policy matter program is produced by the North Carolina family policy Council of profamily research and education organization dedicated to strengthening and preserving the family enough in the studio.

Here's John Rushton, president of the North Carolina family policy Council and thank you for joining us this week. Profamily policy matters. We are very pleased to have Barbara as our special guest Barbara is president of North Carolina right to life, which was founded in 1973 and is the largest single issue pro-life organization in North Carolina serving all 100 counties as we begin 2015 Barbara is with us to discuss what to expect on the pro-life front in the upcoming session of the North Carolina Gen. assembly, which begins in mid-January as well as what is happening in North Carolina during sanctity of human life, Which Takes Pl. in January and before we begin, let me just say that Barbara is a great friend and a colleague and someone that I respect and admire tremendously.

We have been working together for years in the general assembly and just consider Barbara to be a special friend so without Barbara welcome back to family policy matters.

It's great to have you with us again.

Thank you John. After that introduction I feel so humbled, not to that you are a great friend to so thank you very much will thank you Barbara. As we begin, let's spend a few minutes talking about the pro-life movement in North Carolina from, big picture perspective we have seen some significant victories in terms of pro-life legislation that has passed the general assembly. Over the past few years and we are finally beginning to see the fruit. Many of those efforts. Of course there is much more to do. But Barbara, how would you describe the pro-life movement right now in North Carolina" are some of the victories that we can celebrate as we look back over the past few years. Well, I've been to say that movement is stronger than ever and I think that says evidenced by the recent elections where we saw a majority of our pro-life members reelected and elected to the Congress and also to the state legislature and the many bills that have been passed over the last several years is proof positive that were moving in the right direction. The unborn babies are being protected by law and we are having tremendous success in 2013 there was a huge bill that was passed into law. And I think because of the focus so much on the abortion roles that there were other important provisions that maybe were overshadowed by that discussion.hope that you will grant me alone can't adjust refresher listeners memory about what was accomplished with that huge omnibus bill in 2013, we had the opt out for abortion in the federal exchange for Obama care and that means that the policies offered through Obama care in our state will not include abortion coverage and that is huge. The other other provisions were that the city and County employee health plan can no longer include abortion coverage and we know that when we don't pay for abortion we get fewer abortions. There's a decline there was a ban on sex selection abortion which we considered a real war on women and they are pretty now prohibited in our state and WebCam abortions. There was a whole lot of discussion of these because it wasn't listed as a WebCam prohibition in the legislation. They basically said that a doctor had to be physically present when the abortion inducing chemicals are administered to the mother who is considering this abortion.

This prevents what Planned Parenthood had developed in another state that would provide for these chemicals to be given with a doctor at a distance and given out via the Internet by sitting in front of TV monitors and the doctor talking to this woman he's never seen before and I popping the door to to let her take out the chemicals so now in North Carolina we have ensured that these abortion the due inducing chemicals must be given with the doctor physically present and that is a huge victory so we were really happy with all of these provisions in that March omnibus bill greater Barbara, thank you for sharing that because I think it is a mission there has been a lot of attention and focus given to a requirement that same bill that the director of the nuclear Department of Health and Human Services to revisit them and rewrite the rules and regulations for abortion clinics in North Carolina and we do want to talk about that but I think it is important for listeners to refresh their memories about all of the other important provisions that were included in that legislation that was passed in 2013, which were extremely grateful for now. You did mention the provision in the legislation that required the department to revisit and rewrite rules for abortion clinics in those proposed rules have been published in the motel on a register so they have been made public in the department is currently soliciting public feedback on the proposal. We are thankful that the state is revising the rules which would really be the first significant rule changes related to abortion clinics in 20 years.

But there are a number of significant weaknesses in the proposal is North Carolina right to life's view of the proposed rules in other areas that you would like to see strengthened or changed. Well, the one that stood out to make first and I consider very important was the one that reduced the time that medical records must be maintained changed from 20 years to 10 years, and more importantly what it did for minors is it said that the records only need be kept for three years after the. The minor turned 18. Kodak's only three years past her 18th birthday and I just think that's too little time.

They also don't require the doctor nursed a company on non-ambulatory patient needs emergency transfer to a hospital and they have eliminated the required one hour postoperative observation. Prior to the patient discharges and then there are some relaxed requirements for lab testing of the placenta and the child remains so these are some things that I want to also say that this pointed we feel the rules are important for the physical safety of mothers. We don't want another gauze now in North Carolina, but we don't want folks to lose sight of the fact that rules will never protect her from the psychological damage of the abortion and that these facilities exist are solids it existence is to kill unborn children. We know that poorly run facilities might be forced to close, but they will be replaced on mega clinics that are run by Planned Parenthood and Planned Parenthood is the single largest provider of abortions in our country. They do over 330,000 abortions every year and we see this happening already in Asheville them care which had been caused by the state is now to be replaced by big mega Planned Parenthood. So we have to continue to fight to end abortion because we want to protect these unborn babies from their lives being snuffed out and we want to protect their mothers from the regret that she's got 1/2 from having the boarded survey. Absolutely I can agree with Barbara. Despite the victories we've had over the past few years there's a lot more work to be done to defend the sanctity of human life in our state was all North Carolina right to life legislative agenda as we enter the 2015 legislative session. One of the things that we want to sit past. John is a pain capable unborn child protection act that the 10 states have already passed that would protect pain capable unborn babies at 20 weeks and beyond from abortion. And we know that it is important to establish in our for the courts that there are legitimate reasons why the state can protect the life of the unborn child. Those courts have already said that the child being able to live outside the womb is one consideration but we want to see that pain is considered another reason why states can protect unborn children from abortion so that is very important to us. We've also been working for a number years to pass legislation to protect the vulnerable from the growing culture that sees individuals better off those that are maybe informed in some way have some kind of a handicap baby.

I have an illness that from which they are not likely to recover but we we see our culture wanting to kill these people rather than to help them with their particular situation and their gun industry out there that often times work undetected to accomplish his goals of getting rid of these individuals in the unit under the guise of compassion and care and so we've been working for years we we still haven't been able to pass any legislation that's protective of these individuals but that is obviously on our radar and we want to do any and everything we can do to make sure that our state government is not involved in any way with abortion, whether through counseling or in the state hospitals performing abortions so we could be watching, and anywhere that we see it were that affair that out over January the sanctity of human life, month, and there are a lot of pro-life events that are happening in North Carolina and nationally. As we celebrate sanctity of human life month. Let's start with North Carolina right to life's prayer breakfast, march and rally which are coming up here pretty soon tells about those events and ways that pro-life citizens can get involved. On January 17 we will have our 16th annual prayer breakfast for life at the North Raleigh Hilton the breakfast buffet at 930 in the program at 10 Sen. Tom Tillis and he will be Sen. By that time is going to speak at the beginning of the breakfast, and then, and we look forward to hearing from him and then Wesley J. Smith is our featured speaker Wesley J Smith is a senior fellow with the Discovery Institute and he's written numerous books from works right for national review on end-of-life issues on assisted suicide and euthanasia, etc. and so it's a timely topic that he's going to be addressing registration for that event is required, and people can visit our website to NC RTL.org if they want to register online or they can call our office at 336-274-5433 at 1 PM. Following the breakfast that will be a rally which will be followed by March for life and the rally itself will take place on Halifax Mall which is behind the legislative building at 1 PM. There's free parking across Saulsberry from the legislative office building so we encourage everybody to please come out it so important to lecture elected officials and the people insist and in North Carolina see the pro-life presence that we have here and so we encourage everyone want to come out there also number of national events this month for pro-life citizens, including issues March for life in Washington DC which marks the 42nd anniversary of Ray V Wade tells about that event and I believe that white life and maybe some other organizations have buses that will be leaving North Carolina to go to Washington DC for this event will this event is draws hundreds of thousands of people.

It's just an amazing sight to behold all the people greater walking from the mall up to the Supreme Court and the Congress.

There will be buses going up to the March for life in DC on January 22. Many are full but the ones that we know of that have vacancies are listed on our website under the March for life and just as our North Carolina March for life draws many youth, so does the DC even more so does the DC March for life. We know that we have people of all ages, but we know that you are there with us, and they will be the next generation to continue to battle for life is really exciting and they are the future of the pro-life movement in North Carolina in our country so we just want to encourage everyone to participate in these events, both in North Carolina and in Washington DC the bar unfortunately were just about out of time for this week. If you would again please tell our listeners where they can go to learn more about her car like to life to get more information about these events, both your website and the phone number that you provided earlier. Healthcare website is in the RTL.org and her phone number is 336274 life that's 5433 and they can also find us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube, so lots of places we encourage them to join our social media and stay connected. Many revolutions will do that will overhaul thanks so much for taking time out of we know is a very very busy schedule with all these events coming up to be with us today on family policy matters. Thank you for your work to defend the unborn and to promote the site to be of human life in North Carolina.

Likewise, John and I thank you for the opportunity to talk about certain issues and let people know about how they can become involved acute's family policy matters is information and analysis, future of the North Carolina family policy Council join us weekly discussion on policy issues affecting the family.

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