Welcome to The Vine, where every week I strive to bring you updates from around the pro-life community to help you keep up with the ever constant battle to save lives. If you aren’t plugged-in, it is my sincere hope that The Vine will allow you to get familiar with those on the front lines and find your place among them.

While Americans return to work today after taking Monday to remember those who gave their lives for ours, Planned Parenthood will be focused on making sure they can continue to take lives in Wisconsin. Currently the state law requires abortionists to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic. Of course Planned Parenthood believes that such a law is a burden to their “doctors” and have sued the state, resulting in a federal trial that begins today. According to Planned Parenthood, “their witnesses will show during the trial that abortion is a very safe procedure in which the risk of complications is low.” Additionally, “Most complications are treated at the clinic where the abortion was performed, and the need for hospital treatment is rare.” Anyone following the news knows that Planned Parenthood is once again lying. Every month brings a new story of a woman being injured, if not killed, by abortion.

The fact that abortions are dangerous shouldn’t come as a surprise. According to the latest report by the abortion-supporting Guttmacher Institute, only one state requires abortionists to be board-certified obstetrician-gynecologists. Any efforts, from admitting privileges to ensuring abortions are performed in a standard surgical environment are deemed to be strict unnecessary regulations by Guttmacher and Planned Parenthood. With standards like theirs, is it any wonder that women and girls are killed along with their children at Planned Parenthood?

In Arizona, Planned Parenthood could not even be bothered to report the evidence of a 15-year-old rape victim. The accused rapist is an 18 year old high school student, who is on trial for 27 sex crime charges; two rapes having occurred after Planned Parenthood failed to report the crime.

It is not much of a leap to assume the failure of Planned Parenthood in Arizona to report a crime is not an isolated incident. This month also brings news Detroit, notoriously dangerous and often likened to a third world country, is killing pre-born children at an alarming rate. LifeSiteNews reports 1 in 3 children are aborted in the city, a fact that even The Daily Beast had to admit was “tragic.”

How many more women, girls and children are being put in harm’s way in their own homes is the newest concern brought to light by a report uncovered by Jill Stanek. Plan B, also known as the morning-after-pill, has been discovered for sale on Amazon. While unrestricted access to the dangerous drug has been legal for some time, it has at least been the case that the abortifacient was coming from a verified source. On Amazon, there is no telling where the drug is from or if it is actually Plan B. Not only should Amazon be investigating, they should be held responsible for the injuries and deaths that will occur should they fail to act.

This is not the first time Jill Stanek has reported on news that should send shock waves through the country. Stanek has been on the front lines of the pro-life movement since she testified before state leaders in Illinois about infants being left to die in the hospital where she worked as a nurse.  It was Stanek who alerted the country that then-state Senator Barack Obama was the only one standing in the way of Illinois adopting a law to protect babies from infanticide. And it was Stanek who’s brave reporting led me to write my first real blog post. Stanek is overdue a Branch for Life for her inspiring work to protect children in and out of the womb. She is a strong force within our movement and one that everyone should get to know.

Also of note, is a pro-abortion movie that is coming out in theaters next week. Obvious Child, the name of which is surely cruel on purpose, is a movie about a woman who unexpectedly gets pregnant and has an abortion after losing her job and her boyfriend. It seeks to continue the normalization of killing a child when their life is not convenient for your plans. No surprise, Planned Parenthood is excited about the movie and Jezebel, who has the gall to call it a romantic comedy, is offering free tickets. The public should be warned that this movie is nothing more than propaganda for the abortion industry that even pro-abortion Slate couldn’t get behind. I don’t expect the main-stream media to cover the truth about this film so, as usual, it will be up to pro-life activists to spread the word.

Until next week, I pray blessings for you and for all committed to life in The Vine. Please feel free to email or tweet me with any stories you’d like to see covered or any organizations you’d like to see as the Branch For Life!

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