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Here are four of the violations found: 1. The clinic failed to
have a qualified physician on site to care for women recovering
from abortions. The IDPH found when complications arose during an
abortion and the doctor accompanied the female patient in the
ambulance to the hospital, the clinics other female patients in the
recovery rooms were left without a doctor on call or on site to
care for them. 2. The clinic failed to properly report emergencies
and complications during abortions to the state of Illinois for the
past four years. 3. The clinic had
The Illinois Heartbeat
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On March 11, 2015, the Illinois Department of Public Health
(IDPH) revoked the license of Albany Medical Surgical abortion
clinic at 5086 N. Elston Avenue in Chicago and fined the clinic
$50,000. The revocation and fine resulted from a health and safety
inspection conducted by the IDPH on August 28, 2013, where 57 pages
of health and safety violations documented that, The Department
[IDPH] observed conditions in the facility that threaten the public
interest, health, safety or welfare and made findings that
respondent substantially failed to comply with the [licensing] Act
and the Code.
Continued on page 5
Whats the Deal with Senate Bill 1564?
Weve compiled the top six problems SB1564 will cause for
pro-life Illinoisans Page 3
Am I at Risk? End of Life Planning 101.
The number one call we receive is for help in end of life
emergency. Planning starts now. Page 4
More Fraud Uncovered in Aurora Planned Parenthood? In 2007, a
contract worker noticed that the 22,000 sq. foot building he was
working on Page 6
Spring 2015
Chicago Abortion Clinic License Revoked - Remains Open
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Ashleys Story
1
Her entire hand was the size of her mothers thumb. At 21 ounces,
she was barely heavier than a Dasani bottle of water. Born at only
25 weeks gestation, baby Ashley was in for the fight of her life.
Due to complications in the pregnancy, Ashley was born 15 weeks
early. The NICU room at Rush University Medical Center buzzed with
doctors and nurses hard at work trying to save Ashleys life. Warm
love and prayers from Ashleys family surrounded her.
Ashley was being treated with life-saving care at Rush
University Medical Center where only 6 miles away, Family Planning
Associates abortion clinic was legally aborting children Ashleys
age.
A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine
said approximately 25% of babies born 22 weeks
2
could survive if properly treated. According to the New York
Times, Dr. Edward Bell, a pediatrics professor at the University of
Iowa, said he considers 22 weeks to be the new standard of
viability two weeks earlier than the previously held 24 weeks.
After three months in the NICU, Ashley arrived home 14 days
before her actual delivery date.
This August, Ashley will celebrate her 11th birthday. Ashley
loves animals and is an avid swimmer on the Gators swim team. Her
nickname is Peanut and her smile lights up a room. Last year,
Ashley was presented with the Illinois Principals Association award
for excellence in leadership, enthusiasm for learning, and
outstanding work ethic and character.
Ashleys story is one of many stories that show how all these
unborn children need to live is time to grow.
Did you know?
In January, Illinois Right to Life led the largest pro-life
event in Illinois, the March for Life Chicago, with 4,000
marchers from five different states.
Illinois Right to Life was the first
pro-life organization in Illinois. We were founded in 1968 on
the mission of education and continue to stay true to that mission
today.
In the past year, weve launched two educational
websites. Check them out at: www.WomensHealthComesFirst.com and
www.ProtectMyConscience. org. Six thousand people have visited our
websites this month.
Spring 2015
Baby Ashley 10 years later
Baby Ashley at 25 weeks gestation
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In 2007, a contractor noticed that the 22,000 sq. foot building
he was working on included 12 recovery rooms, surveillance cameras,
and bulletproof glass. He knew this could only mean one thing the
building was an abortion clinic.
Further investigation from the Pro-life Action League, the
Aurora Beacon News, and the Chicago Tribune, uncovered that Planned
Parenthood was building the largest abortion clinic in the country
in Aurora Illinois. But the towns zoning ordinance at the location
Planned Parenthood was being built on didnt allow a non-profit
medical facility. So Planned Parenthood came in under a fake name
Gemini Office Development ("G.O.D."), and told city officials that
they were a for-profit medical entity thus falling within the
zoning regulations.
However, Planned Parenthood received an $8 million loan to build
the facility only on the basis that they were a non-profit. To
obtain building permits for a non-profit, Planned Parenthood would
have had to apply for special use building permits. To obtain
special use permits, notice must be sent to Aurora residents of
their building intentions, a public hearing must be held, and the
city council has to vote on the plans.
Led by the Pro-life Action League, 1,000 residents protested in
40 days of prayer outside the mega-clinic leading up to the
September 18, 2008 scheduled opening. Over 400 people attended in
protest the next city council meeting. Despite public outrage, the
mayor granted Planned Parenthood its final permits. Local residents
had kept the abortion clinic closed for two weeks past its planned
opening date. But on October 2, 2008, Planned Parenthood opened for
business. The Chicago based Thomas More Society sued Planned
Parenthood and the city of Aurora on behalf of local residents
stating in 200 pages of evidence that the clinic committed fraud,
deceit, and violated zoning laws.
After a 7 year long lawsuit, Thomas More Society uncovered even
more fraud committed by Planned Parenthood. On August 29, 2013, a
DuPage County judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling in Planned
Parenthoods favor. Thomas More Society immediately appealed the
decision to the Illinois Appellate Court. Thomas Brejcha, chief
counsel of the Thomas More Society details the fraud:
Scarcely was the ink dry on the Circuit Courtsmotion approving
Planned Parenthoods zoning as a for-profit medical clinicwhen
Planned Parenthood hastened to the DuPage County Board and the
Illinois Department of Revenue to insist that its use always had
been exclusively charitable, and that it was entitled to a full
property tax exemption.
Planned Parenthood applied for, and received, tax rebates for
2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 despite telling the court it was a
for-profit entity. At the end of April 2015, Thomas More Society
supplied the court with the new evidence of fraud. We now await
their decision. If Planned Parenthood loses the lawsuit, the
building permits will be revoked and they will be forced to, at
minimum, pay property
taxes like a for-profit company or sell the facility to a
legitimate for-profit medical center.
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More Fraud Uncovered in Aurora Planned Parenthood Clinic
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Quick pro-life rule of thumb: the cause of death should never be
due to a medication overdose, starvation, or dehydration.
Choose a healthcare agent. Picking the wrong healthcare agent (a
person to make medical decisions for you should you become
incapacitated) can be as dangerous as completing the wrong
healthcare directive. Have several in-depth conversations with your
chosen healthcare agent ensuring they understand your end of life
desires.
Complete a healthcare directive form. Illinois Right to Life
strongly discourages completing the state of Illinois Living Will
form. We also discourage using the state of Illinois Durable Power
of Attorney form because of its vagueness and life-ending language.
We strongly encourage you to use Illinois Right to Lifes
Patient-self Protection Document a pro-life end of life durable
power of attorney form. All persons, age 18 and older, should
complete a healthcare durable power of attorney.
DNR To sign or not to sign? Illinois DNR form has been replaced
by the POLST form. A DNR is not appropriate for a healthy person to
sign. If a need for resuscitation occurs, the patient will be
properly resuscitated if this form is not signed. A DNR is
appropriate for a person entering the absolute final stage of his
or her life and who is also very frail. In this case, resuscitation
would only prolong and disturb natural death.
Make organ donation desires clear. In order for vital organs
(such as a heart, both lungs, a liver, etc.) to be useful, blood
and oxygen must be flowing through them during the time of
collection. This means a patient may not be fully deceased when
organs are collected. Illinois Right to Life discourages vital
organ donation. Non-vital organs can be donated ethically after
death such as eye membrane, skin, or bone.
Regularly discuss end of life wishes with your healthcare agent.
Situations and health change over time. Talk about your end of life
wishes regularly and openly with your healthcare agent to ensure
your end of life desires are understood. It is okay to change your
healthcare agent if necessary.
A new Illinois pro-life power of attorney for healthcare form
will be available soon from Illinois Right to Life.
Five Steps to End of Life Planning He hadnt even reached his
late twenties yet but there he lay in a hospital bed in a coma. His
hospital room had turned into a showdown, much like youd hear about
in the Wild West: his mother and siblings on one side, his
estranged father on the other. Dans [name changed for privacy]
family never dreamed they would end up in a heated battle over
whether to give Dan time to recover or end his life by removing
food and fluids. Dan had never filled out any end of life documents
and didnt have any conversations with his family regarding his
final wishes. His family now fought over his last wishes for
months.
The five steps below will help you to avoid these heartbreaking
situations:
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3
serious problems with internal traffic flow which can result in
sterile areas of the clinic being contaminated, placing patients at
risk for infections. 4. The clinic failed to have a back up
generator. If the power goes out in the middle of a procedure and a
woman is under anesthesia, the lack of the generator can kill the
patient.
After issuing these violations, the IDPH gave the Albany
abortion clinic 10 days to submit a plan of correction for the
violations. The abortion clinic failed to submit a plan of
correction to the IDPH until five months after the deadline! The
IDPH rejected that plan of correction as insufficient to fix the
violations and, over the span of 18 months, they rejected four more
plans of correction that the clinic submitted. As a result, on
March 10, 2015, the IDPH revoked the Albany abortion clinics
license and fined the clinic $50,000.
However, the clinic remains open and in full operation today
even without a license. The IDPH stayed (or placed on hold) its
decision to revoke the clinics license until the clinic has a
formal hearing before an administrative judge. Two months later, no
hearing has been scheduled by the IDPH and the clinic continues to
operate in violation of the law. Illinois Right to Life continues
to follow the story. Weve filed a complaint with the IDPH for
5
received no health and sanitary inspection.
Today, approximately 63% of licensed abortion clinics in
Illinois have gone between two and three-and-a-half years without a
health and sanitary inspection. Prior to the release of our report,
the IDPH told us they would maybe try to inspect abortion clinics
once every five years but they didnt have a policy. After the
release of our report and journalist began questioning them, the
IDPH told reporters they would try and inspect every 3-4 years and
later every 2-3 years.
Worse yet, 54% of Illinois abortion clinics are unlicensed
due to a loophole in Illinois law and have not received a health
and safety inspection in over 14 years. No Planned Parenthood in
Illinois is licensed by the state. If an abortion clinic is not
licensed by the state, the IDPH has no authority to conduct a
health and sanitary inspection within it. To view the full report
visit www.WomensHealthComesFirst.com. The website is updated
monthly.
###
4
allowing the clinic to remain open and sent the abortion clinic
staff information on how to leave the abortion industry as no
medical personnel wants to work in a clinic that neglects the
safety and wellness of its patients.
Unfortunately, situations like the Albany abortion clinic are
all too familiar in Illinois. Thats why at the beginning of this
year, Illinois Right to Life released an in-depth report on the
conditions of Illinois abortion clinics. Our research included
reviewing hundreds of pages of IDPH health and safety inspection
reports from abortion clinics. You have to know your enemy to
defeat your enemy. What we discovered was a severe pattern of
disregard for basic medical and sanitary practices among licensed
abortion clinics. Illinois women are being abandoned to the
prospect of unsterilized surgical tools, rust-stained recovery
beds, and dirty operating rooms in abortion clinics. While tanning
salons, nursing homes, and Chicago restaurants are inspected
annually, Illinois abortion clinics are inspected an average of
once every 9 years. Between 2000 and 2010, 92% of all (licensed or
unlicensed) Illinois abortion clinics
Continued from the front
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2
SB1564 would force medical personnel including doctors,
nurses,
pharmacists, and pregnancy resource centers to give patients
upon request a list of places they reasonably believe perform
abortions.
SB1564 would force medical personnel to discuss the benefits
of
abortion with patients.
If an OBGYN found out that his patients unborn child had a fetal
abnormality, he would be required by SB1564 to tell the mother that
one legal treatment option is to abort her child.
If assisted suicide became legal in Illinois, a doctor would
be
required to give a patient a list of places where s/he
reasonably believes the patient can obtain life-ending drugs. Once
a patient is diagnosed with cancer, the physician would be required
to tell the patient the benefits of ending his/her life.
Pregnancy Resource Centers will be required to give their
clients a
list of nearby places they reasonably believe perform abortions
a direct violation of the pregnancy centers mission.
This bill jeopardizes Illinois federal funding because its
language
violates federal law. It will also cost the state thousands of
dollars in legal fees with all the lawsuits that are sure to follow
its passage.
Whats the Deal With Illinois Senate Bill 1564?
Weve seen five abortion clinics shutdown (or about to be shut
down) within the past four years. The number of abortions in
Illinois has reached its lowest level since its legalization in
1973. We saw the largest number of marchers (4,000+) gather in
Chicago for the March for Life Chicago. The abortion industry is
growing desperate as Illinois is turning pro-life. Thats why we see
desperate moves like the attempt to force SB1564 through. The
abortion industry is trying to recruit pro-life people to help sell
their agenda because their current plans arent working. Lets hold
strong and push forward more determined than ever. Thats why
Illinois Right to Life is hiring an additional staff member. One
that will help us grow even stronger. For more information visit
www.IllinoisRightToLife.org. We will turn Illinois pro-life.
Yours in Life,
Spring 2015
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Senate Bill 1564 (SB1564) is an incredibly lousy bill. Not only
does it seek to force pro-life people to violate their conscience,
its a vague, poorly written, and confusing bill. Weve compiled the
top six problems with the bill below. For more detailed information
on the bill including legal memos from expert attorneys, bulletin
inserts, pastors guide, and to read an analysis of the bill by
Princeton University Professor Robert George and Dr. Pam Smith, a
Yale Graduate and a Chicago OBGYN visit our website for SB1564 at
www.ProtectMyConscience.org.
Dear Friends,
Emily Zender
Executive Director 6
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On April 24th hundreds of pro-life people enjoyed an evening of
laughter and comedy at Illinois Right to Lifes 46th annual
fundraiser. Participants helped raise approximately $80,000 gross
of a $110,000 goal to benefit Illinois Right to Lifes educational
fund as the organization looks to hire additional staff to increase
educational programs. The nations most media covered Christian and
pro-life comedian, Brad Stine, joined Illinois Right to Life as the
main speaker. Guests cracked up all night at his hilarious
family-friendly jokes. Brad took a brief break from his jokes to
tell the guests in the VIP reception beforehand, You guys are the
real heroes. Illinois Right to Life bestowed its annual Champion of
Life Award upon the Crusaders for Life, a high school youth led
pro-life group that spreads the pro-life message by educating their
peers and by showing love and spirit for life with their expert
dance moves. The Chicago-land Crusaders president and high school
senior Maureen Severance accepted the award. Forty Crusaders then
led the crowd in their signature pro-life chants: We love babies
yes we do, we love babies how about you?! and Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Roe
v. Wade has got to go!
Stand Up (Comedy) For Life
Spring 2015
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Turning the University of Chicago pro-life.
We helped sponsor a pro-life talk by Serrin Foster, the
president of Feminists for Life at the University of Chicago the
only known university in the country to have an abortion clinic on
campus.
The University newspaper showed how the talk opened hearts:
I am pretty undecided on this issue, but the speech resonated
with me because by giving [women] few resources if they are
pregnant, [the womans] decision to have an abortion is skewed,
which inhibits their ability to make a fully-informed and supported
decision, said sophomore Charlie Salmans.
We see time after time, when we present people with facts and
pro-life resources and do so with love, even
the toughest hearts are transformed.
Spring 2015
PO Box 511
Chicago, IL 60690
www.IllinoisRightToLife.org
Non-profit
Organization
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