THE RYAN REPORT

STOPP challenges California and PP after Holly Patterson’s death

Following the death of Holly Patterson, STOPP International called on California to conduct a full, thorough and impartial investigation of all Planned Parenthood facilities, reviewing the “healthcare” standards and practices offered throughout the state.

This is the second time in less than six months that the media is reporting news about a mother who died after receiving abortion-related services from one of their clinics. The San Francisco Chronicle reports Patterson was seven weeks pregnant when she went to Planned Parenthood in Hayward, Calif., for an RU-486 (also known as mifepristone) abortion.

Allegations of malpractice are nothing new at Planned Parenthood. If Planned Parenthood was as pro-woman as it claims to be, the organization would think twice before administering drugs such as misoprostol (part of an RU-486 abortion) which even the manufacturer says could endanger women’s lives. A short list of cases involving Planned Parenthood patients is included in the article below entitled, “Why do We Oppose Planned Parenthood?”

Planned Parenthood seems to be a dangerous place not only for unborn children, but also for grown women, yet Planned Parenthood claims it maintains the highest standards for providing women with healthcare. STOPP International has repeatedly called upon Planned Parenthood to publicly release a copy of their so-called medical guidelines, but to date they have not done so (at least to our knowledge). In light of Holly’s death and the numerous other reports about Planned Parenthood, STOPP challenges Planned Parenthood to release its Manual of Medical Standards and Guidelines for public scrutiny. If they continue to refuse, it leaves one to wonder exactly what it is Planned Parenthood is trying to hide.

(See also The San Francisco Chronicle photo of friends and family accompanying Holly’s casket to her grave.)

New death raises old questions about RU-486

Commentary from The Washington Dispatch by STOPP's National Director (9/26/03)

Recently published reports about the death of 18-year-old Holly Patterson have again raised questions about the safety of the abortion drug commonly referred to as RU-486, but now more properly called mifepristone. Holly died on September 17, 2003, after she reportedly visited Planned Parenthood in Hayward, Calif., and began an abortion drug regimen of mifepristone and its companion drug, misoprostol. The Alameda County coroner’s office is investigating the case. Planned Parenthood was at the forefront of the effort that led to the FDA approval of this drug regimen and Planned Parenthood profits financially from its use.

An article about Holly’s death in the September 21, 2003, issue of The Washington Times pointed out that the deaths of two mothers who took the abortion pill prompted the FDA to issue warning letters to physicians. In addition to these deaths, other mothers have suffered severe bleeding and severe systemic bacterial infections, according to the same article.

What people need to remember is that for mothers who submit to an RU-486 abortion, it may well be that the second drug in the regimen, misoprostol, is the more dangerous. In fact, Searle, the manufacturer of Cytotec, (misoprostol’s brand name), issued a strong warning just before the FDA approved the abortion drug regimen in 2000 that “Cytotec is not approved for the induction of labor or abortion.”

In its Aug. 23, 2000 letter addressed to health care practitioners, Searle pointed out that Cytotec was approved for use in preventing gastric ulcers caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). These NSAIDs are given to elderly patients suffering from arthritis and have the side effect of depleting the protective prostaglandin in the stomach, thus causing ulcers. Cytotec is a prostaglandin that replaces the depleted stomach prostaglandin. Cytotec also increases the prostaglandin elsewhere in the body and it is the hormone that triggers a woman’s uterine contractions.

The mifepristone/misoprostol regimen works as follows: Mifepristone is an anti-progesterone that counters the natural hormone, progesterone, needed to sustain a pregnancy. Two days after a 600-milligram dose of mifepristone is taken to kill the baby, a 400-microgram dose of misoprostol (Cytotec) is taken to trigger uterine contractions, which expel the presumably dead baby.

The following is the warning Searle gave regarding Cytotec:“Serious adverse events reported following off-label use of Cytotec in pregnant women include maternal or fetal death; uterine hyperstimulation, rupture or perforation requiring uterine surgical repair, hysterectomy or salpingo-oophorectomy; amniotic fluid embolism; severe vaginal bleeding, retained placenta, shock, fetal bradycardia and pelvic pain.”

In Holly’s case, the aforementioned Washington Times article quoted her grieving father as saying, “The doctor told me that she hadn’t aborted all of the fetus, and she had fragments left in her, and she had a massive systematic infection and went into septic shock.” Holly’s father only learned of the pregnancy hours before his daughter died. He lost a daughter and a grandchild.

While one should certainly have concern for the safety of mothers taking the mifepristone/misoprostol drug treatment, let us not forget for a moment that the purpose of this regimen is to kill another human being. While it occasionally kills the mother, and makes headlines, it nearly always kills the child. Thus, it is not enough for Congress to simply attempt to make the process safer for mothers; steps should be taken to get mifepristone off the market completely.

That being the case, it should be noted that even the modest efforts to simply make the abortion drug regimen safer for mothers have been stymied in Congress. The 107th Congress failed to pass the “RU-486 Patient Health and Safety Protection Act.” The Act was reintroduced on January 29, 2003, in the 108th Congress as H.R. 486 by Rep. David Vitter (R-La.). While not making any effort to get mifepristone off the market, this act would function to restrict its use by only those trained to perform surgical abortions. In addition, this act would require that such abortionists be certified for ultrasound dating of a pregnancy and detecting ectopic pregnancy, and would require the abortionist to have admitting privileges at a hospital within an hour’s travel time from the abortionist’s office so he or she could handle complications resulting from an incomplete abortion or an ectopic pregnancy.

But the Bush administration does not need to wait around for Congress to act. Bush has been handed a wonderful opportunity to take mifepristone off the market in the form of a petition to the FDA which was filed on August 20, 2002, by the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Christian Medical Association and Concerned Women for America. This 92-page petition carefully documents the threat to women’s health from mifepristone/misoprostol regimen (including cases of death) as well as the numerous procedural violations that occurred during the FDA approval process. In the wake of Holly’s death, will President Bush direct the FDA to repeal the approval of mifepristone in response to the aforementioned petition? Readers are urged to contact him and ask him to do so immediately.

In the August 2002 issue of Planned Parenthood’s Guttmacher Report on Public Policy the article “Mifepristone in the United States: Status and Future” reported that Mifeprex (brand name for mifepristone) sales in the first quarter of 2002 were up 39 percent compared with the first quarter of 2001. That same article clearly shows Planned Parenthood is violating the FDA-approved protocol for the abortion drug regimen. Planned Parenthood is very determined to expand mifepristone’s use and published a comprehensive plan to do so in its January/February 2003 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health in an article titled, “Convincing New Providers to Offer Medical Abortion: What Will it Take?”

How many more babies and their mothers have to die? The only appropriate response from the federal government is pulling this deadly drug off the market immediately.

Read other commentary by American Life League staff in the Washington Dispatch.

Medicaid surpasses Title X as largest federal funding for Planned Parenthood

Bush must stop granting Medicaid waivers expanding contraception coverage

For several years, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) reported that the Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs provided the single largest federal source of funding of Planned Parenthood via Title X of the Public Health Service Act. However, as the chart below shows, Title X has recently been surpassed by Medicaid (Title XIX of the Social Security Act) in this regard. Links to the GAO federal funding of Planned Parenthood reports used to construct this chart are available on STOPP’s website.

Fiscal year	Title X funds to PP (in millions)	Medicaid funds to PP (in millions)
2001	$58.7	$60.9
2000	$54.6	$42.1
1999	$51.1	$38.9
1998	$52.7	$36.2
1997	$46.7	$34.1

While Title X funds to Planned Parenthood increased by about 25 percent during the period from 1997 to 2001, Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood increased by about 79 percent during the same period. What can account for such a rapid and significant growth in Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood in a span of only 5 years?

In recent years several states have moved to expand eligibility for so-called family planning services (mostly contraception) under Medicaid by securing an approval under a waiver granted by the federal government. According to a September 1, 2003 “State Policies in Brief,” released by Planned Parenthood’s Alan Guttmacher Institute, ten states have obtained approval for raising the income ceiling for those covered (Alabama, Arkansas, California, New Mexico, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin) and four states are waiting for such approval (Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma). In addition, six states have obtained approval to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for so-called family planning (Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Rhode Island, Virginia). Finally, two states (Delaware, Illinois) have obtained approval for extending so-called family planning coverage for women losing Medicaid for any reason.

Who is to blame for this? The article, “Administration Softens Stance on Medicaid Family Planning Waivers,” in the October 2001 issue of Planned Parenthood’s Guttmacher Report on Public Policy, indicates that states have been getting such waivers since 1993. So the Clinton administration is partly to blame, but not completely. The article also predicted that the Bush administration would be retreating from its initial position opposed to such waivers. Indeed, the Guttmacher prediction proved to be accurate. For example, on June 15, 2002, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson, (who American Life League warned about when he was appointed by Bush), announced the approval of a Wisconsin plan to extend Medicaid family planning services for females ages 15 to 44. The Bush administration actually approved a plan to increase contraception use by girls as young as 15!

Another example occurred in 2002 when Bush bowed to pressure from Planned Parenthood and pro-abortion New Yorkers such as Gov. George Pataki and Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, and approved a waiver that allowed New York to expand its coverage of condoms and sometimes-abortifacient contraceptive drugs and devices. The waiver allows persons making up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level to obtain contraceptive coverage from Medicaid. The previous ceiling was 135 percent. For more information, see STOPP’s October 7, 2003 press release and the October 2002 Ryan Report.

Because of waivers granted by the Bush Administration, taxpayers are now being forced to subsidize even more intrinsically evil contraception than we were before, and even more of our money will flow via Medicaid to Planned Parenthood. Furthermore, many of the contraceptive drugs and devices provided under this Medicaid expansion will result in the deaths of tiny embryonic human beings because these contraceptives sometimes act by preventing implantation rather than fertilization. We shouldn't be forced to pay for such killings. Things are not getting better under the current administration; as the examples above show, they are getting worse.

What can be done? First and foremost, the pro-life movement must call on President Bush to stop approving Medicaid waivers that line Planned Parenthood’s pockets and that expand the provision of drugs and devices that sometimes kill tiny human beings. While it is true that such waiver requests are initiated by the states, the proverbial buck stops with the president. He must reverse his current policy and work to eliminate Medicaid funding of so-called family planning services.

Some things can be done at the state level as well. First, pro-lifers should make every effort to find out if there are efforts afoot in their state to apply for a waiver to expand Medicaid coverage for contraceptive programs. Any such efforts should be met with swift, decisive, and vocal opposition from all pro-life groups within the state. If your state already has such a waiver, efforts should be made to change the state’s policy, or at least limit the harm being done.

A wonderful example of how to oppose such Medicaid expansion programs can be seen in the efforts of Pro-Life Wisconsin, an associate of American Life League. In the May 2003 issue of the Ryan Report we told you about how Pro-Life Wisconsin testified in opposition to their state’s Medicaid Family Planning Demonstration Project. That testimony resulted in a vote by the Joint Administrative Rules Committee to suspend the project. Unfortunately, Governor Doyle’s administration decided to overrule this decision.

But Pro-Life Wisconsin and Representative Glen Grothman did not give up. They are now fighting to pass legislation (AB 383 and SB 186), which would restrict the program only to adults, thus preventing 15, 16, and 17 year-olds from receiving contraceptives under this particular project. Pro-Life Wisconsin is also a member of the Parents First! coalition, a group of over twenty organizations representing thousands of families across Wisconsin that are working to protect young people from the physically and morally destructive Medicaid Family Planning Demonstration Project.

For more information on this matter see the following article by Rep. Grothman.

Wisconsin Rep. Grothman’s column on family planning waiver

One of the most offensive areas of increased government intrusion is in the right of parents to instill their own values in their children. The state of Wisconsin began earlier this year to provide free birth control, and other family planning services to girls as young as fifteen without parental knowledge. Sadly, this was largely caused by Tommy Thompson, both in his former capacity as Governor and now, as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

In 1997 a coalition of liberal legislative Republicans and Democrats inserted a provision in the budget requiring the state to apply federal grants for family planning services to women aged 15 to 44 from families below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level. This would be about $16,000 for one person and $28,000 for a family of three. The no-longer conservative Governor Thompson refused my request to veto the provision. Then, Thompson’s own administration ignored legislative intent and decided not to count a teenager’s parents income in determining poverty. Since almost no high school students make over $16,000 a year, this clearly was an effort to make the pill available to every fifteen-year-old girl in the state. The program is funded with 90% federal dollars and 10% state dollars. The federal Department of Health and Human Services under Donna Shalala did not grant the request over the final three years of the Clinton Administration. Unfortunately, in 2002 with former Governor Thompson as President Bush’s Cabinet Secretary the waiver was approved and the Doyle Administration implemented the program earlier this year. Under federal law, agencies receiving these funds will not be able to require any parental notification.

The program is horrible for two reasons. First, authority figures who approve of contraceptive use for teens inevitably encourage sexual activity, as they break down teen’s natural reticence regarding sex. This means more disease, more emotional problems and more pregnancies. Some people may doubt the last statement, but in Britain, a similar program was temporarily shut down for a year and a half for legal reasons. There was no increase in pregnancies. The idea that a fixed number of teens will always engage in sexual activity has also been proven false over the past few years, as the AIDS epidemic and abstinence education has resulted in decreased pregnancy rates and sexual activity among teens.

The second concern is as to who the providers are. Planned Parenthood and similar organizations are the primary advocates and presumably financial beneficiaries of this program. A review of a Planned Parenthood website for teens will quickly show they cannot be expected to encourage any religious values when discussing appropriate sexual behavior. Are these groups who you would trust to advise your fifteen year-old daughter?

I have tried to terminate this program and the committee I am co-chairing has introduced a bill restricting its use to adults. The Doyle Administration advocates for the program. In my opinion, the current department is showing embarrassment over the program in that their primary defense appears to be focusing on health care services related to health care check-ups and sexual diseases, which are incidental to, but not the primary intent of the program. Some of our freedoms are specifically stated in our Constitution. I believe some freedoms were so taken for granted they weren’t listed. A right closely related to the freedom of religion is the right to instill your values in your children including your religious values. For our state and federal governments to generously fund and encourage organizations whose values are an anathema to most parents is an outrage that must be stopped.

Please let me know what you think on this issue (P.O. Box 8952, Madison, WI 53708-8952, Rep.Grothman@legis.state.wi.us, 888-534-0058).

Why do we oppose Planned Parenthood?

• Planned Parenthood Harms Women

  In 2003, the California Department of Health Services cited a Los Angeles Planned Parenthood facility for numerous deficiencies following the death of Diana Lopez. She bled to death in 2002 after her cervix was allegedly punctured during an abortion.1 In 2001, Planned Parenthood agreed to pay a New York woman $1 million because it had repeatedly insisted she did not have breast cancer when she did.2 That same year, a San Francisco court decision awarded $672,610 in damages to a Yugoslav immigrant whose preborn child suffered the loss of two limbs during a botched abortion at Planned Parenthood.3 In 2000, a Missouri woman went into a coma after she allegedly went without oxygen for a period of time during tubal ligation surgery at Planned Parenthood.4 Afterward she entered a persistent vegetative state.5 Such tragedies show that Planned Parenthood is a dangerous place, not only for babies, but also for grown women.

• Planned Parenthood is Anti-Christian

  In its never-ending effort to promote the gospel of 'choice,' Planned Parenthood mocked the Christian faith during the 2002 Christmas season by issuing a holiday card with the message, "Choice on Earth.” This is an obvious distortion of the traditional Christmas greeting, “Peace on Earth,” which refers to the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Since ‘choice’ is a Planned Parenthood euphemism for abortion, the Planned Parenthood card was essentially promoting abortion on earth while simultaneously exploiting the Christmas season to sell merchandise. These cards enraged Christians across America, were the subject of national news articles, and were discussed on Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor.

  Instead of apologizing for this affront to Christians, Planned Parenthood announced that it would expand the campaign to include “Choice on Earth” t-shirts and publicly insulted STOPP for criticizing the cards.6 Then, in a despicable attempt to justify this anti-Christian campaign, Planned Parenthood publicly released two letters it sent to Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly. In one letter Planned Parenthood spoke of the "sacredness of choice,"7 and in another letter Planned Parenthood claimed that Jesus was for “choice on earth” and that the Bible indicates “that Jesus was not against women having a choice in continuing a pregnancy.”8

  Implying that Jesus Christ is in favor of the killing of innocent children is horrendous. Congressman Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., expressed his disgust at the “Choice on Earth” campaign. “It blasphemes the Christ Child – the very essence of what Christians hold as life eternal,” he said. “Christ is the source of peace on earth, and their definition of ‘choice’ is anything but peace.”9

• Planned Parenthood Spreads the Doctrines of Secular (Naturalistic) Humanism

  Planned Parenthood is dedicated to spreading the doctrine of secular humanism as reflected in the Humanist Manifestos (I & II) and the Humanist Manifesto 2000. Human Manifesto I appeared in 1933. It reflected a non-theistic philosophy proposed as an alternative to traditional religion. Humanist Manifesto II was released in 1973. Alan Guttmacher, then PPFA president, signed it.

  Secular humanism rejects the supernatural; thus, it rejects God. It admits to no objective moral code. Planned Parenthood’s adherence to this philosophy explains why it consistently refuses to give children a clear message of "right" and "wrong." It seeks not seek to educate our children in moral values, but to indoctrinate them into the secular humanist philosophy and that “right” and “wrong” can be decided solely by the individual.

  In addition to Guttmacher’s signing of the 1973 document, other close connections exist between secular humanism and Planned Parenthood. For example, Planned Parenthood's founder, Margaret Sanger, was given the 1957 Humanist of the Year Award, which was established by the American Humanist Association. In 1986 the Award went to Faye Wattleton, who at the time was PPFA's president. When Wattleton accepted her award she said, "Another reason I am so honored today is because your movement and mine have a great deal in common. There are a number of similarities in our goals… As a result, there are similarities in those who oppose us.”10

  Wattleton concluded her acceptance speech by reminding the secular humanists of what Planned Parenthood's founder, Margaret Sanger, said in 1957 when she accepted her Humanist of the Year Award. Sanger said that reproductive rights "should be the humanist spearhead."11 The secular humanists are still following her advice. Their latest Manifesto 2000 promotes abortion, contraception, homosexuality, artificial insemination and population control.

• Planned Parenthood’s Sex Education Is Perverted

  Planned Parenthood promotes a type of sex-education for children that denies the very truth and meaning of human sexuality. Such perverted education breaks down natural inhibitions, which then leads to greater promiscuity. As a result, there is an increased demand for artificial birth control and abortion. A long-term effect of such education is that it tends to create citizens who will support Planned Parenthood’s agenda.

  Jim Sedlak, the founder of STOPP, is the author of Parent Power, a book that explains how parents can gain control of the school systems that educate their children in order to eliminate perverting Planned Parenthood sex education programs. Parent Power is posted at www.all.org/stopp/pp15.htm. Printed copies can be ordered by calling American Life League at 866-LET-LIVE.

  A few years ago, PPFA began a new assault against children and parental authority – its disgusting website for kids. Now, parents need to be vigilant about Planned Parenthood reaching their kids in the sanctuary of their own homes. PPFA reported its website for kids received about 360,000 visits a month in 2002.12

• Planned Parenthood is Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider

  Planned Parenthood is a leading worldwide promoter of abortion. In the U.S. alone, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) reported doing 3,019,559 abortions from 1977 through 2001. The number of innocent babies Planned Parenthood kills yearly continues to climb. PPFA reported performing 213,026 abortion procedures in 2001, an 8.1% increase over the previous year.13 The state of New York legalized surgical abortion on July 1, 1970. The next day, Planned Parenthood of Syracuse, N.Y., opened the nation’s first freestanding abortion facility.14

  PPFA performed about 16% of the estimated 1.3 million U.S. abortion procedures in 2001. Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the country, running about 160 abortion facilities nationwide. Based upon an estimated average cost of $375 per abortion, STOPP International estimates that PPFA had a total 2001 abortion income of $79,884,750. STOPP has made a similar estimate for each year since 1977 and the total as of mid-2003 is over $1 BILLION.

• Planned Parenthood Promotes Contraception

  Most of the so-called contraceptive methods provided by Planned Parenthood — such as oral contraceptives, emergency contraception (also called “the morning after pill”), contraceptive injectables, contraceptive implants, and IUDs — sometimes prevent the implantation in the mother’s womb of a human embryo about 5 to 7 days old. This results in the deaths of an untold number of tiny human beings.

  The sexual drive in human beings was created by God to fulfill two interrelated purposes – to bring a close union between a married man and woman engaging in intimate sexual behavior (the “unitive” purpose of sex) and to provide a means to propagate the race (the “procreative” purpose of sex). To be true to the natural law that guides all human action, any act of sexual intercourse must be done within marriage and be open to both the unitive and procreative purposes. Thus, it is immoral for Planned Parenthood to facilitate sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Likewise, it is immoral for Planned Parenthood to promote and distribute products, such as those listed above, as well as condoms, which artificially attempt to render procreation impossible, even to those who are married.

• How to STOP Planned Parenthood

  STOPP International has been fighting Planned Parenthood since 1985. In 1998, we became a project of American Life League and our ability to counter Planned Parenthood’s activities increased tremendously. Our plan for defeating Planned Parenthood is available at www.all.org/stopp/plan.htm. It relies upon people opposing Planned Parenthood in their own communities and is based on actual experience in fighting -- and defeating -- Planned Parenthood programs, facilities and government funding via peaceful, prayerful, and legal means. STOPP has been leading such battles since 1985. There have been some amazing victories, but we have a long way to go. With the help of STOPP’s plan, and constant prayer, you should be able to shut down Planned Parenthood in your community.

Notes:

1. Griffith, Dorsey, State Faults clinic in death, The Sacramento Bee, online edition, June, 19, 2003.
2. Lehman, Don, Woman gets $1M in misdiagnosis, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, N.Y., Jan. 23, 2001, p. A1.
3. Wetzstein, Cheryl, Planned Parenthood told to pay $672,610 for botched abortion, The Washington Times, March 1, 2001, p. A4.
4. Woman in Coma After Surgery, TheKansasCityChannel.com, KMBC-TV News, Nov. 6, 2000.
5. Case No. 00CV230548 against Planned Parenthood, et al. filed in the Circuit Court of Jackson, Missouri at Kansas City on Dec. 19, 2000, p. 6.
6. Feldt, Gloria, Pres. of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, press release, Nov. 25, 2002.
7. Feldt, Gloria, Pres. of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, letter to Bill O’Reilly at Fox News Channel, Nov. 26, 2002.
8. Bigelow, Mark, PPFA Clergy Advisory Board, letter to Bill O’Reilly at Fox News Channel, Nov. 22, 2002.
9. Laugesen, Wayne, ‘Choice on Earth’ Fuels Bad Will This Christmas, National Catholic Register, Dec. 15-21, 2002, p. 15.
10. Wattleton, Faye, Reproductive Rights For A More Humane World, The Humanist, July/August 1986, p. 6
11. Ibid. p. 30.
12. Planned Parenthood Federation of America Annual Report 2001-2002, p. 11.
13. Planned Parenthood Federation of America Service Reports 1987 and 1994 and Annual Reports 1994/95 – 2001/02.
14. Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region, Inc. website (8/1/03) at www.pprsr.org/aboutus/history2.cfm

STOPP releases new pamphlets

The text contained in the article above was used recently by American Life League as the basis for a complete revision of STOPP’s pamphlet, “Why do we OPPOSE Planned Parenthood?” In addition, STOPP’s “Who was Margaret Sanger?” pamphlet was completely revised based upon the text contained in an article with the same name that appeared in the August, 2003 issue of the Ryan Report. These resources are an excellent means of educating others about the evils of Planned Parenthood. To order these pamphlets, call American Life League’s resource department toll free at 1-866-LET-LIVE.

Texas: Fr. Couture dies, PP clinic he opposed closes

Here is an excerpt from a letter that STOPP received recently from Rita Diller, the Family Life Director for the diocese of Amarillo, Texas.

Our dear friend, Fr. Fern Couture, passed away Tuesday afternoon, September 9, 2003, as the result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

Fr. Fern was a great Apostle of the Eucharist and Apostle of Life. He was spiritual director of our Diocesan Chastity program, heard confessions at our Rachel's Vineyard Retreats for Healing after Abortion, and prayed often outside the Planned Parenthood facilities for an end to abortion. He worked tirelessly to bring the Diocesan Eucharistic Congress to fruition. He established Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in Dimmitt, with daily petitions for an end to abortion and the closing of the local Planned Parenthood facility, and within one month after commencing Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration the facility closed. He traveled many miles each week to pray at the Tulia Planned Parenthood facility, which closed September 1, 2003. Through his devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, Fr. Fern is, indeed, the prescription for an end to abortion.

At Fr. Fern’s funeral Mass, Bishop Yanta said that while publicly we pray for Fr. Fern, privately many of us are praying to Fr. Fern. You can bet that I am among the latter. The amount of good he could accomplish on this earth was limited -- in heaven there will be no limits. With Fr. Fern to intercede for us, we can expect great things to happen!

Each time I spoke with Fr. Fern, he ended with the exclamation: “United in the Eucharist!” So we shall remain! Thanks be to God for sending his great servant, Fr. Fernand Couture, to walk among us.

STOPP joins with all those who are thanking God for the gift of Fr. Fern Couture and in thanking God for the closing of the Tulia Planned Parenthood clinic at which Fr. Fern prayed so faithfully. May he rest in peace. Rita informed STOPP that only 4 of the 19 Planned Parenthood clinics that were once in the Diocese of Amarillo are still open. The rash of closings has come about since Bishop Yanta was installed as bishop in 1997. STOPP published an extensive story on many of closings in the June/July 2001 issue of the Ryan Report and in an update in the November 2001 issue. A statement opposing Planned Parenthood from Bishop Yanta is posted, with those of other bishops, on STOPP’s website.

See also the 9-14-03 article about Fr. Couture in the Amarillo Globe-News, “Faith community to mourn beloved priest.”

Idaho: Pro-lifers force PP out of Title X program

Planned Parenthood of Idaho announced that it will no longer participate in the federally funded Title X population control program. Planned Parenthood of Idaho President Rebecca Poedy indicated the decision to withdraw was based on the likelihood that lawmakers will vote to prohibit the organization from receiving funding for the program. The Idaho House Health and Welfare Committee in April voted to recommend that the state budget block $137,000 in federal Title X funding from going to Planned Parenthood. The vote to block the funding was seen by some as an attempt to punish Planned Parenthood. See Kaiser’s Daily Report for 9-29-03 for more details.

Last winter, Idaho Chooses Life Executive Director David Ripley encouraged pro-life lawmakers to block Planned Parenthood’s access to the money. He hailed Planned Parenthood’s decision as a victory in a 9-25-03 article in The Idaho Statesman, saying, “Women will be in much better shape — they´ll be in much better care and, hopefully, they´ll get non-political care.”

STOPP congratulates David Ripley, Idaho Chooses Life, and all the pro-life lawmakers that forced Planned Parenthood to back out of the Title X program. This is a magnificent victory that pro-lifers in each and every state should be trying to imitate!

For more information about Idaho Chooses Life’s battle against Planned Parenthood see the August 2002 issue of the Ryan Report, or visit Idaho Chooses Life’s website.

Back issues of the Ryan Report.