pro-life Archives

The Rest of the Story

Does this scene sound somewhat familiar?

A young, married, pregnant woman is admitted to a hospital. She is in pain, but not quite sure what is happening. Early labor? Perhaps. Complications associated with the pregnancy? Maybe. After some tests are conducted, the diagnosis is made: Appendicitis.

The frightened woman is relieved and treated. But at the end of the surgery the doctor advises that her baby is likely to be born with a disability. Why? A consequence of the treatment which had been necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: pro-life June 11, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Gendercide: The War Against Girls

Gendercide, a term first coined in a 1985 book by Mary Anne Warren, is a cold and ominous sounding word, and rightly so. Coupled with a photo of a single pair of empty pink baby shoes silhouetted against a black backdrop, it’s downright haunting. But that’s what the editors of a recent issue of the Economist did when they published a startling expose on a largely ignored modern-day holocaust.

What is it all about?

According to a technical understanding of the term, “gendercide” is the deliberate extermination of one particular gender, male or female.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, kids, pro-life May 11, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Ultra Good News From Sooner Country

William Shakespeare said it: “Troubles come not as single spies—but in battalions!” Well, old Will wasn’t always right. Only days after sharing the good news about the pro-life movement in the Cornhusker State (Nebraska Passes Two Major Pro-life Bills), there’s more encouraging reports regarding the sanctity of life out of the state of Oklahoma today.

One week after Governor Brad Henry vetoed two pro-life bills, the state’s legislature has voted overwhelmingly to override the vetoes.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: news, pro-life April 27, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Nebraska Passes Two Major Pro-Life Bills

Something remarkable happened last week which has been largely ignored by the national press. After a quick Google search, aside from the pro-life news agencies whom you’d expect to cover it, I found that just one major media outlet has touched on the story: ABC. Candidly, I would have thought such a big news story would have sparked much more of a national dialogue.

Here’s what happened.

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman signed into law two groundbreaking measures that will change the way abortions are handled in the Cornhusker State.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, policy, pro-life April 21, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Let’s Continue the Dialogue

I never cease to be amazed how God works.

By now it’s likely you know about our Super Bowl ad with Pam and Tim Tebow. But what you may not know is the genesis of the idea. In a way it snuck up on us in God’s perfect timing. I was completing some work in our video studio at Focus on the Family when one of our film team members, Mark Waters, tossed out an idea which he had been kicking around for a year.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: entertainment, events, pop culture, pro-life March 17, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

When Telemachus Stood for Life

On January 1, 404 AD, thousands of spectators crowed into the Roman Coliseum itching to see a good fight—a fight to the death, that is. While the bloodthirsty fans took their seats in the stadium, dozens of Roman gladiators steeled themselves for the afternoon battle.

This was a kill or be killed contest.

Wearing colorful body armor, the gladiators marched around the perimeter of the battlefield. They raised their weapons of choice—a war chain, a three-pronged trident spear, a dagger, a net or lasso—to the cheers of the throng.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, pro-life February 4, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Leaving Planned Parenthood

We recently finished airing a compelling, two-day Focus on the Family broadcast with Abby Johnson, the former director of a Texas Planned Parenthood clinic. While I first blogged about Abby back in November, this is one of those life-changing conversations you won’t want to miss. (Click here for PART 1 and PART 2).

In 2008, Abby was given the dubious honor of “Employee of the Year” for the Southeast Texas region having counseled thousands of women to have an abortion.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, pro-life January 30, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Super Bowl Ad Gets Super-sized Response

It’s been said, “You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” That axiom is certainly true as we move closer to the debut of our Pam and Tim Tebow commercial in the Super Bowl. While the spot has yet to air, the overwhelming reaction to our theme of “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life” has been positive.

I’m not surprised. Tim Tebow’s story is inspiring.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: news, pop culture, pro-life January 28, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Ripples of Life

If you toss a pebble into the still, glass-like water of a pond, what do you get? Ripples scurrying across the surface of the water constantly moving in an outward, circular fashion from the point of impact. These gentle ridges of water form an ever expanding ring of motion as each wavelet multiplies the reach of the initial splash.

Since we’re in the middle of the Sanctity of Human Life week, let me apply that pebble-in-the-pond phenomenon to our pro-life work here at Focus on the Family.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: church, faith, pro-life January 21, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Power of Ultrasound

With the national unemployment rate hitting 10.2%, the highest level in 26 years, it’s the rare individual who willingly quits a job without having another to take its place. But Abby Johnson said she really had no choice. And Abby Johnson didn’t have a run-of-the-mill job, either.

Abby is 29 years old and lives in Bryan, Texas. After she left the organization she had worked at for nine years, her employer filed what’s called a “restraining order of disclosure” against her, suspicious that she had absconded with confidential files.

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, pro-life November 10, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura