Trying something new here… every Friday (more or less) we’ll be posting a round-up of our favorites from Twitter the past week. Follow us on Twitter here!

Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Rock County affiliate has been instrumental in the closing of this abortion mill, and we congratulate them on their successful pro-life efforts. Proof that pro-life activism works, PLW Rock County members regularly sidewalk counseled and prayed outside this abortion facility for more than twenty years.

We have already seen women traveling to Milwaukee from northern Illinois for abortions, and we anticipate the traffic to continue. Affiliated Medical Services in Milwaukee is the only remaining late-term abortion facility in Wisconsin.

In an article titled “The Same Stones as Dachau,” the Jan. 16 National Catholic Register profiled some of these prayer warriors, longtime PLW activists.

Sister Rosalia Bauer, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, prayed in front of what she called “the abortion mill” every Friday for 13 years. She said that as a nurse she could never call that building a clinic. She called it a mill. A mill that manufactured and profited from death.She remembers being joined to pray at the clinic by a woman from Poland. The woman took one look at Northern Illinois Women’s Center and told Sister Rosalia that “the stone on the outside of the building are the same kind of stone used in Dachau.”

The building at 1400 Broadway in Rockford Illinois had ironically been built as a schoolhouse over a century ago but for the past few decades it’s been home to the region’s only abortion clinic. At its height, the NIWC destroyed 75 human beings a week. It may also have been one of the most infamous in the country.

Pro-life school teacher Kevin Rilott remembers the first time he came to pray at NIWC many years ago. A man came out and yelled at him “Why do you come here. Only n%&&ers and prostitutes get abortions. Why are you here?”

“He thought that would drive me away,” said Rilott. “But I thought if that’s the attitude, we’re definitely needed here.”

Read the rest of the article, it is a testament to twenty years of sidewalk counseling and pro-life activism.

The Rockford Register Star also has a brief article with pictures about a prayer vigil held yesterday outside the Rockford abortion mill.

Join us in praying for an end to abortion!

PLW-Crawford County will pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet at Options Contraception Clinic, 103 Wacouta, Prarie du Chien, WI at on January 22 at 10 a.m.

PLW-Bayfield County will have a Mass for the Unborn on Sunday, January 22 at 8:30 a.m. at St. Louis Catholic Church, 217 W Seventh St., Washburn, WI.

PLW- Fond du Lac will hold a prayer vigil on Sat. Jan 21 at 11:00 a.m. in front of the Planned Parenthood Office at 333 N. Peters Ave.

PLW Kenosha will be having a prayer vigil on Sat. Jan. 21st  from 11am to 11:45 am at Planned Parenthood in Kenosha. Planned Parenthood is located on Roosevelt Rd and 36th Ave. We pray the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the end of Abortion.

Madison: Vigil for Life will host a vigil to mark the 39th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision at Planned Parenthood (3706 Orin Road) in Madison on Sunday Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m. Fr. John Sasse from St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cottage Grove will lead the prayer vigil for the conversion of hearts to respect the dignity of all human life. Feel free to bring a baby item to the prayer vigil to benefit the Women’s Care Center of Madison.

The Watertown Pro-Life Group/PLW-Jefferson County will pray the rosary following all Sunday Masses on January 22.

PLW-Juneau County will have a 39-minute prayer march at the Juneau County Courthouse on January 22 at, 2:45 p.m. It starts at the Juneau County Courthouse. There will not be a reception this year. St. Patrick’s church is holding a Holy Hour from 4:00-5:00pm. It is located at 401 Mansion St. in Mauston. (1 Block from the March)

Queen of Peace, Protector of Life/PLW-Sawyer County is sponsoring a “God’s Gift of Life” presentation on January 18 for the CCD students (parents invited also).  It will consist of a talk by Dr. Cliff Tenner of New Richmond to the 8th grade and above on the sanctity of life including issues pertinent to today’s teens. In addition, we will have a display in the parish center featuring 13 fetal models plus several panel displays of notable individuals who relate to life issues such as adoption, abortion, etc. There will be additional displays, handouts, prolife gift packets for students to take home and refreshments.

PLW-St. Croix County will meet at the Minnesota State Capitol to join the Minnesota Rally for Life at 2 p.m.

PLW-Marathon County: Pro-Life Rally at St. Mary’s Oratory, 325 Grand Av, Wausau, Sunday, January 22. Outside Rally begins after Mass about 11:30am. Lunch is at 12pm. Program begins at 1pm. Main speaker is Steve Karlen, Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Program Director. Topic of speech: Ending Abortion: What it will take and where we go from here.

Sunday’s Wisconsin State Journal featured the story of Amy Hurt, a Wisconsin woman who was separated from her conjoined twin only days after birth in 1984.

This is a very interesting article, when you read between the lines:

The twins’ names were written on their feet with magic marker, Amy said. “Before they headed into the operating room, they actually turned to my mother and said, ‘If we can only save one of them, which one of them do you want us to save?‘

“My mother said, ‘Whoever will have the better quality of life.’”

Today, looking back on the surgery, “I can really see the hand of God in it,” said Amy’s mother, Barb Hasner.

Within 13 days after their separation, the “celebrity twins,” as local headlines called them, were discharged.

“They actually did very well through the surgery and post-op as well,” said retired neonatologist Dr. Gary Gutcher, who coordinated the twins’ care before and after their surgery.

“I think most of the time we spent pinching ourselves” that they were connected in a way that made it medically viable to separate them, he said. “It’s a wonderful success that (Amy) has had a child of her own.”

As we all know, eugenics is alive and well. I wonder if her mother would share that anecdote if one of the twins did not make it.

Meriter Hospital was intrinsically involved in the attempt to bring late-term abortion to the Madison Surgery Center, where Meriter was a one-third partner. It is known that Meriter Hospital performs abortions at the hospital.

So it is very ironic to read of the hospital doing so much to help a woman have a child — a woman who Meriter would have helped abort, as late-term abortion victims are often those diagnosed with a fetal abnormality (and the case of conjoined twins would definitely qualify).

Sigh. First, this from today’s Wisconsin State Journal [full article here]:

Republicans who control the Legislature have their sights set on passing just four major bills and little else during the session that begins Tuesday and runs through mid-March…

And with Gov. Scott Walker also facing a recall, there is little willingness to take on anything that strays too far from the GOP talking points of job creation and improving the economy…

Other proposals that are sure to generate strong feelings are pending, but it’s unclear whether squeamish lawmakers will have the fortitude to take them on in the little time they have.

Those include a constitutional amendment to define personhood, which opponents say would result in the outlawing of all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest, and ban all forms of hormonal contraception.

Couple thoughts:
A. We have heard, anecdotally, that this was going to be happening, and suspected as much when there were no pro-life/pro-family bills scheduled for a vote;
B. It is unfair to paint ALL Republicans with this squeamish brush;
C. The WSJ is no friend to the GOP/pro-lifers and has a vested interest in making things appear as they are not.

You know one thing that will make pro-life voters stay home from the polls? When their vote is marginalized and they see the effort put into getting pro-life representatives elected (and let’s face it, the Democratic Party is pro-abortion) go right down the tubes.

In addition, there are a number of people who don’t agree with the GOP on everything (Fair Trade agreements are an example of a contentious issue, as are anti-terrorism efforts that result in fewer liberties for American citizens) but will vote GOP in order to get a pro-life rep in.

One thing that will get pro-life voters TO the polls? When they see their representatives taking a stand on pro-life issues. Rep. Andre Jacque has a ton of support across the state, and you know why? He has consistently put forward pro-life bills.

It is sad that the GOP doesn’t see that sticking to the “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” mantra (and let’s face it, both parties can spout that line and put forward job-creation ideas) will only alienate pro-life voters and spread apathy.

Stand for something, as it were.

Pro-Life Wisconsin has been steadfast in opposing euthanasia, whether masquerading as “death with dignity” or the so-called “right to die.” Because it permits euthanasia by omission, we are adamant in opposing the Wisconsin Living Will (Directive to Physicians). The Living Will has many internal flaws, including its ambiguous and confusing language which may be interpreted by physicians in a way you did not intend. Furthermore, it is impossible to make sound medical decisions based on guesswork about the future.

It seems more prudent to appoint an individual (agent) you have carefully chosen to make your health care decisions if you can’t speak for yourself. The Wisconsin Power of Attorney for Health Care, while less flawed than the Living Will, may also be used to permit euthanasia by omission. We, therefore, are unable to endorse this document. To meet this problem, we offer a life-protective document, the “Protective Power of Attorney for Health Care” (PPAHC). Download PLW’s PPAHC here [PDF].

We received the below email about how one of our PPAHCs was used. We are sharing it with the sender’s permission and an exhortation to make sure your health care decisions are protected:

I need to thank Pro-Life Wisconsin for making the power of attorney for health care and living will available to me last October. I moved an 83-year-old friend of mine from Florida to be near me in Sturgeon Bay, Wisc. (Door County). I had her sign a PPAHC prior to going entering a nursing home so I would be her power of attorney and have Christian-based advanced directives, especially related to food and fluids and comfort measures. Thanks to Terri Schavio’s case I understood the necessity of this.

Through over-medication of a sedative my friend became like a vegetable. She couldn’t lift her arm, talk, or make any needs known. The nursing home didn’t force her to eat or drink (that’s against nursing home regulations).

She declined from starvation and severe dehydration. The MD ordered comfort measures on Christmas Day. The next day she received fluids at the hospital for mental status changes. She does have dementia but no life threatening diseases. She woke up after 2 liters of fluids through an IV, but the hospital stopped the fluids and ordered the same diet she couldn’t eat in the nursing home.

I had her transferred to a larger hospital in another town where she received antibiotics and a feeding tube at my request and as her directives dictated. She is now alert, feeding herself, talking and smiling so beautifully!

She is weak and we are building her up now. What a fight to get the feeding tube and get the medical staff to listen to me. I am an RN and know how to stand up for my patients. Prayers and persistence paid off. Thank you for all of your pro-life efforts.

Again, you can download PLW’s PPAHC here [PDF].