BREAKING NEWS:

PA Senate to vote TODAY on ending late-term abortion

We just learned that the Pennsylvania State Senate will vote TODAY on HB1948, which would end late-term and dismemberment abortions in Pennsylvania.

TAKE ACTION: Send an email (tinyurl.com/endlateterm) or call your State Senator’s Harrisburg office and ask for their yes vote on HB1948.

Your State Senator is your state senator.

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What is HB1948?

Summary:

Earlier this year, HB1948 passed by a two-thirds margin in the PA House and now awaits passage by the State Senate.

In 1989, when Pennsylvania’s Abortion Control Act became law, it permitted abortion as far as six-months into pregnancy (24 weeks, 6 days). Back then, babies born at 24 weeks had a slim chance of survival.

Today, thanks to medical advancements, premature babies are surviving at records rates. “Survival across the board has gone up for premature babies, particularly for the smallest babies, over the past two decades,” says Dr. Dennis Mujsce, the medical director of NICU at Penn State Milton S. Hershey. Dr. Mujsce says the increase in survival rate for babies born at 23 weeks has gone up from 1/4 of babies now to 1/3 of babies. For babies born at 24 weeks, now 60 to 65 percent survive (used to be half) and for babies born at 25 weeks, it’s as high as 80-85% (used to be only 75%).

Numerous states have now updated their limit on abortion to the first five-months of pregnancy. Globally, the United States is only one of seven nations to allow elective abortion past five-months (only North Korea, China, Canada, Vietnam, Singapore and the Netherlands allow elective late-term abortion along with the USA).

So many Pennsylvania kids born premature are now thriving. Kids like Jackson, born right at 24 weeks, or Will, born 24 weeks, 6 days – currently a legal day in PA to receive an abortion – or Lydia, born right at 25 weeks.

In addition, there is no reason to rely on the use of the barbaric dismemberment abortion procedure (click here for more details about the procedure).  The procedure is already used 55% less in Pennsylvania since 2010, it carries a significant risk to the health of the mother.

For these reasons, it is time to update our quarter-century-old abortion law by passing HB1948.

Resources:

• HB1948 Two-page Handout: Are you encouraging childbirth over abortion?

• Action Alert: Help Pennsylvania update its quarter-century-old law on abortion by asking your State Senator to vote YES on HB1948. To send your State Senator an email, click here.

Pennsylvania Family Council

23 N Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101

717-545-0600 | pafamily.org

Here are some pictures from the Trunk or Treat on October 30th. Can you guess who the big dinosaur is!?

The 2016 St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Appeal kicks-off this weekend! We hope you prayerfully considering donating to help the seminarians, Diaconate candidates and students in the graduate program. To learn more visit stcharlesseminaryappeal.org

Cut Through the Ad Noise

Share our Individual Candidate Pages from PaFamilyVoter.com

In addition to receiving your free, personalized voter guide at PaFamilyVoter.com for the candidates on your ballot this Election, we have individual candidate pages with guide information that’s easily accessible and shareable. Click through the list below and use these pages as a way to share information with family and friends:

President of the United States

Hillary Clinton (D)

Donald Trump (R)

Gary Johnson (L)

Jill Stein (G)

Darrell Castle (C)

U.S. Senate

Katie McGinty (D)

Pat Toomey (R)

U.S. House of Representatives

Click here for the listing per district.

Attorney General

Josh Shapiro (D)

John Rafferty (R)

Auditor General

Eugene DePasquale (D)

John Brown (R)

State Treasurer

Joe Torsella (D)

Otto Voit (R)

State Senator

Click here for the full list per district.

State Representative

Click here for the full list per district.

If you wish to see just the candidates on your ballot, go to the main homepage at PaFamilyVoter.com and enter the form to receive your personalized guide.

PaFamilyVoter.com is a non-partisan, church-friendly free source offering a personalized guide to help you make an informed decision this election. This online voter guide covers all statewide candidates for the President of the United States, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, PA Attorney General, PA Auditor General, PA State Treasurer; as well as candidates for PA State Senate (odd-numbered districts) and PA State House. This version also includes any comments made by the candidates and any sources used for a candidate’s position.

Last Chance for Mailed Orders of Printed Guides

Pennsylvania Family Institute’s 2016 Printed Voter Guide covers all statewide candidates for President of the United States, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Attorney General, Auditor General and State Treasurer. (Online guide covers State Senate, State House and any comments/sources for candidate positions.)

To order: Click here or call 1-800-326-4591

• For bulk orders: Requested donation of $15 per 100.

• Two print options: Statewide or Southwestern PA

Both the printed and online voter guide are based on candidates’ signed responses to our questionnaire, sitting lawmakers’ voting records, or a candidate’s public statements, campaign materials and other credible sources.

DON’T STAY HOME this Election – vote on Tuesday, November 8th, and make an informed decision using your free, personalized guide: PaFamilyVoter.com.

Pennsylvania Family Institute

23 N Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101

717-545-0600 | pafamily.org

In keeping with its mission, the PCC aims to educate and inform Catholics about a wide range of issues. To that end, we have compiled a series of resources to help to educate you about some of the topics of import to Catholics. The PCC neither supports nor opposes any candidate for public office.

As you review these resources, please also consider excerpt from the bishops’ Living the Gospel of Life:

“Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing, and health care. Therefore, Catholics should eagerly involve themselves as advocates for the weak and marginalized in all these areas…But being ‘right’ in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life.Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the ‘rightness’ of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community. If we understand the human person as the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ — the living house of God — then these latter issues fall logically into place as the crossbeams and walls of that house. All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion andeuthanasia, strike at the house’s foundation. These directly and immediately violate the human person’s most fundamental right – the right to life.” From Living the Gospel of Life, No. 22 with original emphasis (Pastoral Statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1998).

Presidential Candidates
Know the Positions of the 2016 Presidential Candidates
Know the Positions of the Presidential Candidates (Spanish)

Pennsylvania Statewide Candidates
Survey of Pennsylvania Statewide Candidates
Know the Positions of the U.S. Senate Candidates
Complete Survey Responses of Senator Toomey (Candidate McGinty did not respond to the PCC survey)

General Assembly and U.S. Congressional Candidates
Archdiocese of Philadelphia 
Diocese of Allentown
Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown
Diocese of Erie 
Diocese of Harrisburg
Diocese of Greensburg (available Nov. 2)
Diocese of Pittsburgh
Diocese of Scranton (available Nov. 3)

Another resource to help Catholics prepare for the upcoming election is Forming Conscience for Faithful Citizenship, and its companion summary bulletin inserts.

Find your polling place by clicking here.

The Pot of Gold drawing will take place on Tuesday, November 1st at 7:00 PM instead of Monday, October 31st.

We hope that all have a happy and safe Halloween!

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is sponsoring an eight day pilgrimage to Fátima and Lourdes to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Mother. The journey, led by Reverend G. Dennis Gill, Director of the Office for Divine Worship and Rector of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, will feature several towns and shrines throughout Portugal, Spain, and France.

The pilgrimage will include adoration in Saint Stephen’s Church in Santarém, Portugal, the site of the miracle of the Bleeding Host; Mass at the Capelinha, built over the oak tree where Our Lady appeared five times to the three shepherd children: Lúcia, Jacinta, and Francisco; a visit to Aljustrel where the Angel of Fátima appeared; and Valinhos where Our Lady appeared in August 1917; a tour of the Atlantic coast, beaches, and markets of Nazaré; a visit to the Gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria de Burgos in Burgos, Spain; a tour through Loyola as well as various other locations connected with Saint Ignatius; and a guided tour of Saint Bernadette’s home; and a visit to the healing waters in Lourdes, France.

Pilgrims will leave Philadelphia Monday, June 5, 2017 and return Monday, June 12, 2017. Registration for this pilgrimage is due by March 22, 2017. Interested parties may call Canterbury Pilgrimages and Tours, Inc. at 1-800-653-0017. An informational flyer is also pilgrimage to this message. Please consider sharing this material broadly in your parish communities. Thank you.

A number of items which remain from the St. Joseph the Worker school and convent buildings will be made available to parishioners who might be interested in having them.  All items are available free of charge.  Those interested must be prepared to load and transport the items.  Items include teacher and student desks, chairs, tables, VCRs, books, and other miscellaneous items.

Some items which are too large to bring out to the parking lot include several sofas, a Kenmore electric range, two small home organs, an electric recliner, a manual recliner, and a dining room set with a hutch and six chairs.  Anyone interested in these items should contact the rectory office at 215-946-4040.

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has released a video statement inviting all Catholics to take time in these final weeks leading up to the presidential election to deeply reflect on the founding principles of our republic and the Gospel truths.

The video also directly addresses public officials in calling them to respect the rights of people to live their faith without interference from the state. Archbishop Kurtz’s video statement is available here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5ae-aRj7fHFaE81aEw3bUdKSTg/view.