June 6, 2019

Dear Friends,

TRUTH is on the march, and LIFE is winning!

Although the stakes are lethal and the tension is high, it is more than a bit gratifying to see the pro-abortion forces in the throes of an apoplectic fit. As Christian pastor and author David Jeremiah once said, “the irony of truth is that the greater its potential for offense, the greater its potential for giving hope.” Our hope in 2019 is growing ever stronger!

I witnessed and participated in this outpouring of hope—and love—on May 4 in New York City. Abby Johnson, flush from the extraordinary success of the movie Unplanned—which portrays her conversion—declared “Life is winning!” on stage in the middle of Times Square. The crowd roared when they learned that the 4D ultrasound image shining from the giant screens, accompanied by the glorious sounds of a live heartbeat, was Abby’s own unborn baby. The “Alive in New York” event was sponsored by Focus on the Family and March for Life. It brought thousands of people to the “crossroads of the world” for a celebration of the incomparable dignity of human life.

New York has become a flashpoint in the national struggle over life because of Governor Cuomo’s horrible Reproductive Health Act (RHA). While anti-life activists here are living an abortionist’s dream, there has been a huge backlash all over the country against infanticide laws like ours. Many people who have been staying out of the struggle—either on the fence, or not wanting to “impose their views”—are waking up to see that their inaction has enabled the most fanatic abortion promoters to set legislation and policy goals that are abhorrent to all decent people.

Grassroots Heroes

Speaking of lighting sparks, my Newsmax column and recent opportunities to address pro-life audiences are drawing increasing attention and new subscribers to the Human Life Review. And boy, do we need them, and you! Please remember, of course, that the Human Life Foundation, with its insightful scholarship (“the intellectual backbone of the pro-life movement”), live events, and support for besieged crisis pregnancy centers, needs your assistance to persist in our accomplishments. In proportion to our essential mission, our budget is quite small. So I hope, <<Salutation>>, that you will please take a moment now and send a tax-deductible donation in the enclosed envelope.That’s why “likes” and “shares” of my recent column at Newsmax exploded! I broke the story that a small but courageous county in New York’s Hudson Valley, Putnam, took a stand when it passed a legislative resolution against the RHA. Human Life Review staff were present for the April 2 vote at the historic courthouse in Carmel. As I described in my column (which you can find at https://www.newsmax.com/mariamcfaddenmaffucci) “pro-life citizens showed up in droves to attend the legislative session; in fact, so many came out that the actual courthouse meeting room was filled to capacity, with an overflow crowd reaching out of the building.” Putnam is lighting a spark that we hope will turn into an uncontainable fire, as other counties—and other states—follow suit.

Your support is enabling us to take on an exciting new initiative! We are going to bring our intellectual leadership to the defense of extraordinary pro-life efforts in Alabama and Georgia as well as Kentucky, Ohio, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Never before have states so intentionally provoked the Supreme Court into overturning Roe v. Wade. A crucial battle is about to be waged.

The media is aggressively taking sides. On May 15, the editorial board of the New York Times published “How to Help Protect Abortion Rights in Alabama and Georgia,” a guide for pro-death advocates masquerading as an editorial. It outrageously condemned the “remarkable cruelty” of pro-life legislation, listed handbooks for committing and defending abortions, and promoted an online link to volunteer opportunities at Planned Parenthood.

In response, we have asked pro-life leaders to join a special symposium which will analyze the new tactics and prepare the pro-life community with the intellectual arguments that will win the day. This will be posted online and promoted by the time you receive this letter—and then featured in the Summer edition of the Review. (If you want a print copy now, just check the box on the enclosed form.)

A Flash of Lightning

I hope you are enjoying (or will soon) our new Spring issue. Great Defender of Life honoree Paul Greenberg wrote that when the HLR arrives “in its plain brown wrapper, its contents illuminate and electrify. Like a flash of lightning on a dark night.”  This issue’s illuminating essays include: Mary Meehan’s gathering of advice from experts on how to counsel women and men who are at risk for deciding on abortion, Mark Mostert’s shocking report on the cruel and sometimes lethal persecution of those with albinism in Africa, and senior editor William Murchison’s powerful essay on Gov. Cuomo’s infanticide bill, “A Promiscuous Extension of Abortion Rights.” Murchison writes: “On from elective infanticide, to where, exactly? To the ‘mercy killing’ of the enfeebled—people with no more objective value to society than infants malformed in the womb? . . . What do we make of it? After we stop shuddering?”

Unfortunately, Murchison is spot on, as the next local battle with national repercussions is the pending so-called Medical Aid in Dying Act, “hard-heartily” supported by Gov. Cuomo. Sadly, New Jersey just passed a similar law. Polls show broader support for these assisted suicide laws than for late-term abortion. Why? Because in general people fear suffering, trust “medicine,” and, importantly, are being misled about what these laws really mean.

Here in NYC, at the Summit for Life on the day before the Times Square event, I addressed participants on this “assisted dying” legislation. As I said, it is never a good idea to give doctors—or anyone—the power to kill. Those who push these laws assure us of “safeguards,” sort of like the spurious “safe, legal and rare” mantra of the abortion promoters, and use tragic, heart-tugging stories. But the sad truth is we are handing over the power to kill to the medical profession, and to the state. Some doctors, under pressure from health insurers, will offer the less expensive poison prescription instead of the compassionate and ethical healthcare they once swore to uphold.

Pro-life doctors are themselves besieged by the pro-death forces who want a Canadian-style health dictatorship that would trample on doctors’ rights to conscientiously object. In a 2010 essay in Public Discourse, Helen Alvaré warned of the dire consequences of stifling citizens’—especially doctors’—freedom of principles. “Opponents of conscience protection know this. It shows in the ‘take-no-prisoners’ terms in which they conduct their debate.” Rich Lowry, in National Review, recently tackled the current New York debacle by calling out pro-abortion legislators who hide behind the goodness of traditional medicine to justify extreme disdain for unborn children. “This isn’t pro-choice. It isn’t humane. And it doesn’t have anything to do with medicine. In New York, pro-abortion advocates have shown us what they really are, and no one should ever forget.”

Great Defenders of Life!

I shared some of the work of Helen Alvaré and Rich Lowry because, well, our annual Great Defender of Life Dinner on October 10 in NYC will honor the very distinguished leaders Helen Alvaré and Rich Lowry! Helen Alvaré is a Professor at the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University, a prolific writer on marriage and religious freedom, a consultor for the Pontifical Council of the Laity (Vatican City), a founder of WomenSpeakforThemselves.com, and an ABC news consultant. Rich Lowry has been editor of National Review for over two decades, a columnist for top media publications, and a prominent commentator and panelist on television. His leadership has brought the pro-life perspective to mainstream America. Please be sure to check the box on the enclosed reply sheet to receive more information about our Greet Defender of Life Dinner or visit www.humanlifereview.com/great-defender-of-life-dinner/.

There is no organization like the Human Life Foundation, with the reputation for such life-saving scholarship and leadership. Our assertive engagement in the impending ideological and legal collision will depend on stretching our resources to the breaking point. We are working very hard to recruit new donors and paying subscribers, and this effort is bearing fruit, but it is a slow and expensive (in the short-term) process. You can help by promoting Review articles, blogs, and publications among friends, sending gift subscriptions, and frequently sharing our Facebook and website content.

The Review is truly a gift for many. One of our longtime subscribers, Reverend Paul T. Stallsworth—who is a pro-life hero himself, as head of the Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality—recently wrote to me that: “In the midst of a world gone mad, your journal brings a beacon of hope into my life, study and home four times a year. Thank you.” This is our mission, and we do all we can to fulfill it.

Your contributions to our recent matching grant challenge were incredible. All of us at the Foundation are overwhelmingly grateful. I am not exaggerating, however, to say that this is the time when your continued financial support is crucial.

I hope you agree! Right now, please send your charitable donation of support today in the enclosed envelope. Even gifts of $10 add up, and a gift of $100 or $1,000 will be an investment in the Foundation’s unique capacity to further the cause of Life, many—many—times over.

Sincerely,

Maria McFadden Maffucci, President

P.S.  Sometimes, we have opportunities to attain dramatic, society-wide victories for Life. TRUTH is on the march, and it is ravenously hungry for change. Your donation today is absolutely crucial. Send your generous support today, please!