the illinois heartbeat

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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 clinic’s 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 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 What’s the Deal with Senate Bill 1564? We’ve 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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Illinois Right to Life's Spring edition of The Illinois Heartbeat

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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

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    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

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    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

    Spring 2015

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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:

    Spring 2015

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    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

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    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.

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    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

    Spring 2015

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    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

  • 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

    US Postage Paid

    Chicago, IL

    Permit #227