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Our friends at Americans For Prosperity have released this reminder about Code Red tomorrow to convince the U.S. Senate to defeat the so-called health care “reform” bill. If you cannot go to Washington, D.C., then rally in front of the nearest offices of Virginia’s U.S. Senators, Jim Webb and Mark Warner (click their names to get nearest office locations): 

Tomorrow is the day — Dec. 15 — of the Code Red Rally on health care. We hope to see you here in Washington, D.C., in Upper Senate Park at 1:30 p.m. wearing RED!

Or, if you cannot make it to Washington, go to YOUR local U.S. Senate office at 1:30 p.m. your time.

Join Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D., Sen. Jim DeMint, Laura Ingraham, AFP President Tim Phillips and our 15 coalition partners as we tell the Senate: “Hands off our health care!” The Democratic leadership is trying to get to a final vote this week, so the timing couldn’t be better for us to take this stand.

If you cannot make it to Washington or to your local Senate office, please call your Senators’ offices at 1:30 p.m. You can make a difference tomorrow!

Let’s make sure they hear from all of us tomorrow.

At our Gala Monday evening, the loudest applause line of Family Foundation President Victoria Cobb’s address was when she said that pro-family Virginians expect that the next governor of Virginia to submit a budget that ends taxpayer subsidies to Planned Parenthood. In a radio interview the next day on the Laura Ingraham Show, Republican candidate for governor Bob McDonnell stated that he would do just that.

Now, Planned Parenthood is going berserk over McDonnell’s comments, despite the fact that The Washington Post today claims that Planned Parenthood didn’t receive any taxpayer money in this year’s budget. For several years The Family Foundation has worked with other pro-life organizations to end the taxpayer subsidizing of Planned Parenthood, often finding it difficult to uncover how much money they receive or through what agency or program.

While Planned Parenthood alleges that the money they receive is used for “women’s health care,” the fact is that this is a $1 billion a year organization that performs more than one-quarter of all abortions in the nation, with roughly one-third of its income coming from taxpayers.

Oddly, for an organization that claims to be about “health care,” it is run by a hard-core partisan Democrat, Cecile Richards, the daughter of former Texas Governor Ann Richards and former chief of staff to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The truth is, it is nothing more than a partisan organization that uses its taxpayer funding to bludgeon pro-life candidates across the country and to promote abortion on demand. This year, Planned Parenthood endorsed McDonnell’s opponent, Creigh Deeds, who supports taxpayer funding of that organization. in fact, Planned Parenthood endorsed all three Democrat statewide candidates.

The fact is that, regardless of their position on abortion, most Virginians do not like the idea of their tax dollars paying for abortions and, by extension, organizations that perform them. Planned Parenthood has plenty of its own money; it doesn’t need any from the taxpayers.

On Tuesday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell appeared on the Laura Ingraham Radio Show and, to the delight of many pro-lifers, took a definitive stand on banning taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. For many, such as Virginians For Life, such a public stand from McDonnell was essential and urged him for some time to make a public pledge. Remember, he has not signed a no-tax pledge. To others, his commitment to the pro-life cause was never in doubt. But Ingraham brought up the issue and McDonnell responded by saying banning state funds to Planned Parenthood is something he’s been for since the beginning.

Here’s the interview. It lasts 7:19 and the Planned Parenthood question is at about the 3:40 mark.

Bob McDonnell takes the “No Planned Parenthood Pledge” on the nationally syndicated Laura Ingraham Radio Show.

Planned Parenthood (see CNS.com article here), the nation’s number one abortion provider (and recipient of your state and federal tax dollars), sent a congratulatory e-mail to its members last week. It is posted below, verbatim. After reading it, please consider joining us at The Family Foundation of Virginia Annual Gala, to be held at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, November 20, (more details here) at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who was named a “domestic terrorist” by Planned Parenthood, is our keynote speaker (see videos of him speaking about life here and here and click here to see an interview with him and Laura Ingraham.) 

Ticket information is available by clicking here, by calling 804-343-0010, or by e-mailing dan@familyfoundation.org.

Letter From Planned Parenthood To Its Supporters

From:   Cecile Richards, President
                Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Subject: THIS IS WHAT IS FEELS LIKE

Dear xxxxxx,I’ve been wondering what it would feel like to know that the president of the United States supports women — it’s been a while — and I must say, it feels amazing.

People around here are finally exhaling, after eight long years. Just think, the massive amount of time, energy, and resources that the Planned Parenthood community had to spend shielding women and teens from the harm caused by the Bush administration can now be directed to expanding women’s access to the reproductive health information and services they urgently need.

Not only that, we also defeated anti-choice ballot initiatives by decisive margins in California, Colorado and South Dakota. Thank you so much for helping us protect women’s reproductive rights this election — your support and the hard work of people in those states made the difference.

It’s genuinely exciting to think about what we can achieve if we pull together. But we have to make a special commitment to one another. We have to pledge to seize our new opportunities with as much energy and tenacity as we’ve used to fend off the risks and challenges of the last eight years.

President-elect Obama said it so well last night, “This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.”

It’s up to us to take up that challenge and urge Barack Obama to act on his deep commitment to women’s health and reproductive freedom by reversing the global gag rule, restoring funding for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and acting quickly to overturn any dangerous last-minute anti-choice regulations that the lame-duck Bush administration may seek to put in place. We’ll be asking for your help on these issues soon.

Today, we are determined to turn the new climate of hope and possibility into real change for the women Planned Parenthood serves . . .

Imagine — being able to reach out to the generation of young women and teens that Bush administration policies have left without access to comprehensive sex education and affordable birth control.Imagine — reducing our tragically high rate of teen pregnancy and the disastrous spread of sexually transmitted infections, currently affecting at least one in four teenage girls in America.

Imagine — being able to help patients overcome rising barriers as more and more women turn to Planned Parenthood for their health care needs.

Yes, there’s hard work ahead to achieve our vision for a healthier America and a healthier world for women. But making that vision a reality is now, happily, ecstatically, within our grasp.xxxxxx, I want to extend my gratitude to you. You stepped up when women were besieged from all sides by anti-choice hardliners, and you saw those women and Planned Parenthood through every challenge. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Cecile Richards, President
Planned Parenthood Federation of America

The Family Foundation of Virginia’s Annual Gala Celebration is only a few weeks away.  This year’s Gala is on Thursday, November 20, at 7:00 p.m., at the Greater Richmond Convention Center’s Grand Ballroom. It is black tie optional and a private reception for event sponsors begins at 6:00. We are especially excited about our keynote speaker, Phill Kline.

Last year, attendees were amazed at the presentation of Eric Metaxas, author of Amazing Grace: William Wiberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, the companion book to the critically acclaimed movie Amazing Grace. His talk about William Wilberforce set the stage for a real life Wilberforce at this year’s event: Phill Kline.

For some hard core news junkies, Mr. Kline may be a familiar name, while most people probably are unfamiliar with him. But no one in American politics better represents our theme this year: “Principle Over Politics.” Mr. Kline has faced dramatic political, personal and legal repercussions for his battles with Planned Parenthood, first as the attorney general of Kansas and now as a county prosecutor. He may be the foremost pro-life public official in America today and his commitment to expose Planned Parenthood’s cover-up of illegal activities in Kansas truly is inspiring. Although it has cost him elections, Mr. Kline  has not compromised his principles. To preview his talk, we will post here in the near future an interview we are going to conduct with him. We also will post some video of and about him, starting with one at the end of this page.

Tickets for the Gala are $85 per person or $165 per couple. Sponsorship opportunities also are available. To reserve your tickets or to become a sponsor, click here for a printable order form. (For more information about the Gala and articles about Mr. Kline, click here.) Completed forms can be mailed to:  

The Family Foundation of Virginia
One Capitol Square
830 East Main Street
Suite 1201
Richmond, Virginia 23219

For those travelling a long distance, we have secured a significantly discounted group rate at a nearby hotel that will be guaranteed through October 30. For more information concerning tickets, sponsorship opportunities or hotel reservations, please contact Dan Thompson at (804) 343-0010 or e-mail dan@familyfoundation.org with “Gala Information Request” in the subject line.  

We look forward to seeing you in Richmond on November 20. In the meantime, to give you a preview of what to expect, please view the video interview below with Phill Kline by Laura Ingraham on the Fox News Channel: