Appeals Court Reverses Ruling Banning NC County’s Prayers

/0 Comments/in , /by

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit yesterday reversed and remanded a lower court’s decision that Rowan County, North Carolina, commissioners’ prayers before public meetings violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

In a 2-1 ruling written by Judge Steven Agee, with Judge Dennis Shedd concurring, the court determined that Rowan County’s practice of an invocation before meetings was not unconstitutional, as plaintiffs, who were represented by the ACLU, had charged. Judge Wilkinson dissented.

In February of 2012, the ACLU sent a letter to the Rowan County Board of Commissioners objecting to the pre-meeting prayers. Although the Board didn’t respond formally, several commissioners stated their intent to continue to express their Christian faith through prayers. According to the majority opinion, one then-commissioner stated, “I will continue to pray in Jesus’ name. I am not perfect so I need all the help I can get, and asking for guidance for my decisions from Jesus is the best I, and Rowan County, can ever hope for.”

Plaintiffs “alleged that the prayer practice unconstitutionally affiliated the Board with one particular faith and caused them to feel excluded as ‘outsiders.’” Plaintiffs sought an injunction preventing any future prayers, and moved for a preliminary injunction on the basis that “sectarian legislative prayer was a constitutional violation.”

Judge James A. Beaty, Jr., Senior District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, ruled in May of 2015 that the Rowan County commissioners violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment since almost all of the prayers offered before public meetings invoked the Christian faith.

Yesterday’s majority opinion recalled, citing an earlier case as support, that the Founders appointed official chaplains to open sessions in prayer and it is a tradition continued today:

Observing that legislative invocations containing explicitly religious themes were accepted at the time of the first Congress and remain vibrant today, the Court concluded, “[a]n insistence on nonsectarian or ecumenical prayer as a single, fixed standard is not consistent with [our accepted] tradition of legislative prayer.”

The Court reversed and remanded the earlier ruling, stating that:

The Board’s legislative prayer practice falls within our recognized tradition and does not coerce participation by nonadherents. It is therefore constitutional. The district court erred in concluding to the contrary.

Chris Brook, Legal Director for the ACLU of North Carolina, was disappointed with the ruling and pledged to ask the Fourth Circuit to review the decision en banc, or by all 15 judges. “Today’s ruling is out of step with the First Amendment’s protection of religious liberty for all, and we will ask the full appellate court to review this decision,” he said, adding that, “Rowan County residents should be able to attend local government meetings without being coerced to participate in a sectarian prayer or worry that the commissioners may discriminate against them if they do not.”

Brett Harvey, Senior Counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom and co-counsel for Defendants, stated that “All Americans, including public servants, should have the freedom to pray without being censored … the First Amendment affirms the liberty of Americans to pray according to their consciences before public meetings. For that reason, the 4th Circuit rightly upheld Rowan County’s prayer policy, which is clearly constitutional.”

Rowan County Commission Chairman Greg Edds said the Board was very pleased with the court’s decision, adding that, “Our attorneys are currently working through the decision and we will know more about it in the coming days.”

Monday’s decision overrules the injunction on prayer imposed by Judge Beaty. (For more from the author of “Appeals Court Reverses Ruling Banning NC County’s Prayers” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

John Boehner Rises From the Ashtray of Political Defeat to Become a Tobacco Lobbyist

/0 Comments/in , /by

John Boehner has cashed out.

That is the news from The Intercept, which describes how the former Speaker of the House is “monetizing his decades of political relationships and cashing out to serve some of the most powerful special interests in the world.”

In other words, in less than one year since leaving Congress, Boehner has become a lobbyist. Lee Fang and The Intercept report:

Boehner is joining Squire Patton Boggs, a lobbying firm that peddles its considerable influence on behalf of a number of foreign nations, including most notably the People’s Republic of China. Serving Beijing is somewhat appropriate: Boehner has long been a supporter of unfettered trade, helping to lead the effort to grant Most Favored Nation status to China. Squire Patton Boggs also represents a long list of corporate clients, including AT&T, Amazon.com, Goldman Sachs & Co., Royal Dutch Shell, and the Managed Funds Association, a trade group for the largest hedge funds in the country.

Boehner is signing onto Squire Patton Boggs “as a strategic advisor to clients in the U.S. and abroad, and will focus on global business development.”

The news comes just a week after the announcement that Boehner will be joining the board of Reynolds American, the tobacco company responsible for brands such as Camel and Newport cigarettes. The tobacco board seat will likely earn Boehner over $400,000 a year in stock and cash. The Squire Patton Boggs salary has not been disclosed, but lawmakers of Boehner’s stature have easily obtained salaries at similar gigs in the seven-figure range.

This was entirely predictable. K Street is a revolving door for former politicians who seek to make a quick buck using the relationships they have built in the legislature to dance bills to the tune of lobbying firms.

Boehner has always served special interests. Now he’s just doing it from outside Congress, instead of inside. (For more from the author of “John Boehner Rises From the Ashtray of Political Defeat to Become a Tobacco Lobbyist” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Senate Backroom Spending Deal Will Only Get Worse

/0 Comments/in , /by

If Congressional Republicans lose the election, it won’t be because they were too conservative. In fact, quite the contrary. Since Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015, there have been embarrassingly few conservative victories.

Instead, this Republican Congress is better known for making deals with President Obama than for standing with conservatives. After all, in the first year Republicans controlled Congress since 2006, they helped add $1.2 trillion in new deficit spending. That’s not so conservative.

Yet, the 114th Congress is quickly coming to a close. But before Republicans can return to the campaign trail, they must pass a short-term spending bill, known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), before government funding runs dry on October 1. However, negotiations between Senate Republican leadership and Democrats are like perpetual moments of deja vu.

As in the past, Republicans seem resigned to surrender to Democrats in backroom deals; and Democrats appear to be comfortable with their ability to outwit Republicans.

We already know that Republicans have surrendered to Obama’s demands for a 10-week CR, which will require Congress to legislate during the lame-duck session. And the dangers of a lame duck, the time between the election and a new Congress, should be obvious by now.

A primary sticking point has been funding to fight the Zika virus. Earlier this summer, disagreements over how the funding could be utilized led to an impasse. In particular, Democrats wanted emergency Zika funding to be used for Planned Parenthood.

This impasse has now been ironed out, or at least the Democrats did the ironing. It didn’t take much for Republicans to surrender to Democrat demands to use part of the Zika funds for Planned Parenthood.

You may think that the Republican surrender on Planned Parenthood illustrates just how feckless Republicans truly are, but it gets worse.

If you didn’t already know, the Zika virus is spread by mosquitos. Republicans, sensibly, wanted funding to also include a temporary moratorium on the permits generally required for mosquito pesticides. The moratorium would have allowed farmers and others to spray specific pesticides near bodies of water. Instead, Democrats made clear they prioritize the environment over people’s health; Republicans caved to those demands too.

Really, you can’t make this up. The United States Congress wants to fight bugs, but won’t make it easy to get the permits that would allow homeowners, farmers, towns and cities to actually do it.

Then there’s the discussion involving more “emergency funding.” Republicans want additional money to fund Louisiana’s flood disaster, while Democrats are requesting additional federal funds for the Flint City water crisis.

This issue shouldn’t even be debated in a short term funding bill. The Disaster Relief Fund currently has $12 billion available, today, to address immediate needs and disaster mitigation. Instead of using money normally dedicated to long-term disaster needs, like housing and reconstruction, Congress should use the billions of dollars they already have set aside.

As conservatives, these constant charades over spending are what we have all come to expect. So, too, are the backroom deals negotiated by Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. (F, 42%) and Democrats. Far too often, these terrible deals are pieced together without the input of other Republican senators, and voted on merely hours later.

Republicans are negotiating these terrible deals just weeks before they have to stand for reelection and ask voters to send them back to Washington. If they’re already willing to sell out this close to the election, just imagine what they’ll feel free to do in the lame duck — once they’ve already been reelected.

Buckle your seat belts, guys. Congressional Republicans are about to take us all for a very bumpy ride. (For more from the author of “Senate Backroom Spending Deal Will Only Get Worse” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Obama’s Three Worst Lies in His Last UN Address

/0 Comments/in , , /by

It was hard to pick only three of the worst lies from Barack Obama’s speech today, but we did it.

LIE ONE

Remember when Barack Obama said Republicans are afraid of widows and orphans, that was right before women and children became suicide bombers. He’s still saying it and it’s patently untrue.

The Breitbart London editor picked up this massive lie by Barack Obama. He actually lied to the UN with statistics that directly contradict those of the UN. He’s lied to them before. Take the lie about the video causing the Benghazi “protest”.

LIE TWO

Globalist Obama just plain lied about poverty in the U.S.

During his speech, the president said, “Last year, poverty in this country fell at the fastest rate in nearly 50 years. And with further investment in infrastructure and early childhood education and basic research, I’m confident that such progress will continue.”

It’s an absolutely provable lie. Poverty Levels Under Barack Obama SKYROCKET To 50-Year Record High, as The Washington Times reported,

LIE THREE

Obama thinks he solved the Iranian nuclear crisis. He’s made it worse. Look at how much the Iranians respect us now – constantly harassing our ships. We sure taught them.

His opening paragraph was a massive lie but my favorite was him saying he solved the Iranian nuclear crisis with diplomacy.

“From the depths of the greatest financial crisis of our time, we coordinated our response to avoid further catastrophe and return the global economy to growth. We’ve taken away terrorist safe havens, strengthened the nonproliferation regime, resolved the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomacy.”

The Iranian nuclear deal guarantees Iran will have the bomb and he sent them billions in wire transfers to help them proliferate and lied about it. How is that strengthening the nonproliferation regime?

Barack Obama doesn’t believe in the United States or any sovereign nation, he believes in globalism. He wants to redistribute our wealth throughout the world and the other nations will readily take it but if he thinks dictators will give up their little fiefdoms, he’s truly insane.

The entire speech proves he lives in an alternative universe. (For more from the author of “Obama’s Three Worst Lies in His Last UN Address” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

BOMBSHELL: The New York Times Dispels 3-Year-Long Accusation That Trump Bribed Fla. AG Bondi

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The mainstream media has been breathlessly running headlines like this one from The Chicago Times, “Trump signed improper charity check supporting Florida attorney general,” alleging that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump bribed Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (another Republican) in order to avoid prosecution. For three years now, zealous reporters have tried to find a smoking gun revealing impropriety in Trump’s campaign donation.

Now The New York Times says there’s almost certainly no smoking gun to find.

A Matter of Days

The US Supreme Court recently held in the landmark public corruption case, McDonnell v. U.S., that bribery requires that the person giving the donation get something for it. According to the Federal Code (18 U.S. Code § 201), not only must something of value have been offered to a public official, but it must be shown to have influenced that public official’s behavior for the contributor’s benefit.

The train of events began when several attorneys general filed complaints against Trump a few years ago, claiming that he fraudulently marketed Trump University’s real estate and wealth-building seminars. On September 13, 2013, a Florida newspaper published the story that Bondi’s office was investigating Trump and might join the other attorneys general in a suit.

Four days after that, Bondi’s PAC received $25,000 from Trump. (Several months later, Trump threw a $3,000 a plate fundraiser for her at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach and she’s become a prominent supporter.)

Complaints were filed with local authorities and the FBI’s public corruption unit alleging bribery to stop Bondi’s office from investigating him too. But after Bondi’s office released 8,000 documents in response to a public records request, even The New York Times admitted that the check had been written and signed four days before the story broke in the media that Bondi’s office was considering investigating Trump University.

Additionally, the Times reports about Trump’s donations in Florida that “he has contributed at least $375,000 to state and federal candidates and political committees here since 1995, accounting for 19 percent of the roughly $2 million he has given to campaigns nationwide, other than his own.” Bondi said she personally solicited the donation from Trump, who had already contributed $500 to her campaign in July.

The Times isn’t giving Trump a clean bill of health, however. The press had reported in 2010 that “the attorneys general of Florida and Texas had gotten complaints from Trump University students. “His contribution, therefore, could have been a pre-emptive investment to discourage Ms. Bondi from joining the New York case.”

No Evidence of Bribery

In the article , the Times said it could find no evidence in the released records that Bondi herself even was aware of the initial review being done by her office. This was not unusual. Most of the complaints came to her predecessor, who said he had not known about them, the Times reported, as did his two top deputies and others in the consumer protection division.

In fact, the chief of the consumer protection section wrote in an internal email in 2011 that the office was holding off on any investigation of Trump University. When Mark Hamilton, a lawyer in the consumer protection division, heard about the media outcry in 2013, he advised the office that any lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General against Trump University would apply to Floridians, so there was no need for the Florida AG to duplicate the work.

Now, Trump did make a mistake in writing the check from his charitable organization, not his personal account, which he blamed on a staff clerical error, and reimbursed his charity with $25,000 in personal funds. He also paid a $2,500 fine to the IRS over the mistake.

Mac Stipanovich, who the Times describes as “a longtime Florida Republican strategist and lobbyist who disdains Mr. Trump and has never worked with Ms. Bondi,” observed, “The optics are terrible even though there is not a shred of evidence that Pam Bondi solicited a bribe or that Donald Trump provided one.”

Although the Times has (mostly) cleared Trump, most of the rest of the mainstream news outlets are still claiming he behaved improperly and they are exaggerating the seriousness of the check confusion. Fortunately for Trump, the top newspaper in the country, which is left-leaning, has told a different story. (For more from the author of “BOMBSHELL: The New York Times Dispels 3-Year-Long Accusation That Trump Bribed Fla. AG Bondi” please click HERE)

Watch a recent interview with the author below:

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Is George H.W. Bush Planning to Vote for Hillary Clinton?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Former President George H.W. Bush, a veteran Republican, plans to cast his ballot for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Election Day, according to a daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy.

According to several reports, Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, a Democrat, posted a photo to her private Facebook account Monday of her shaking hands with the former commander in chief, along with the caption, “The President told me he’s voting for Hillary!!”

Bush, 92, has remained largely silent on the presidential election since Donald Trump became the Republican nominee for president, beating his son, Jeb Bush, and several other competitors in a bruising primary battle.

In a phone interview with Politico, Townsend confirmed the report, telling the outlet she met with the elder Bush in Maine earlier Monday, where she said he revealed his choice for president.

“That’s what he said,” Townsend, who served as Maryland’s lieutenant governor for eight years, told Politico. (Read more from “Is George H.W. Bush Planning to Vote for Hillary Clinton?” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Suspect in New York, New Jersey Bombings Charged With Shooting Officer, Awaits Federal Charges

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Afghan immigrant who authorities believe planted bombs in New Jersey and New York this weekend was captured Monday after a dramatic gun battle with police that sparked when officers found him sleeping in the doorway of a bar.

Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, was charged late Monday in Union County with five counts of attempted murder of a police officer. He was being held on $5.2 million bail and remained at a hospital. It wasn’t known if Rahami had an attorney, as messages left with phone numbers listed for family members by the Associated Press weren’t returned. Federal charges in the bombings have yet to be filed.

Rahami is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was identified as the primary person of interest in the Saturday night blast in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, an explosion in New Jersey’s Seaside Park on Saturday morning and a foiled bomb attack Sunday night near a train station in Elizabeth, NJ.

The hunt for the alleged bomber turned out to be brief. A bar owner in Linden, NJ spotted a man sleeping in his doorway Monday morning and called police. An officer confronted the man around 10:45 a.m., and soon recognized the person as Rahami, officials said. Rahami pulled out a gun and shot the officer, identified by the Linden mayor’s office as Angel Padilla, in the abdomen. Padilla was wearing a bulletproof vest.

A second police officer, identified as Investigator Pete Hammer, had a bullet graze his head. Both officers were expected to be okay. (Read more from “Suspect in New York, New Jersey Bombings Charged With Shooting Officer, Awaits Federal Charges” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Feds Wrongly Granted Citizenship to Hundreds Facing Deportation

/0 Comments/in , /by

More than 800 illegal immigrants from countries of concern who were set for deportation were mistakenly granted U.S. citizenship because the Department of Homeland Security didn’t have their fingerprints on file, according to an internal audit released Monday.

The Homeland Security Department’s inspector general found the immigrants used different names or birthdates to apply for citizenship with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration. In the case of 858 immigrants from “special interest countries or neighboring countries with high rates of immigration fraud,” the discrepancies weren’t caught because their fingerprints were missing from government databases.

A few even managed to get aviation or transportation worker credentials, though they were later revoked. One became a law enforcement officer.

The findings were released, incidentally, as authorities were investigating a string of weekend attacks, allegedly connected to foreign-born suspects.

The inspector general report could further fuel warnings about immigration security. The report warned that when immigrants become naturalized, “these individuals retain many of the rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship, including serving in law enforcement, obtaining a security clearance, and sponsoring other aliens’ entry into the United States.” (Read more from “Feds Wrongly Granted Citizenship to Hundreds Facing Deportation” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

The Minor Candidates: The Libertarian Gary Johnson

/0 Comments/in , /by

Fiscally conservative and socially liberal, the Libertarian Party presidential candidate refers to himself as a classical liberal — but even then, he’s not a typical classical liberal. Gary Johnson is known for provocative statements, such as calling Social Security a ponzi (pyramid) scheme, but also for not knowing what Aleppo is. He favors cutting taxes and regulation and legalizing marijuana — and indeed ran a company called Cannabis Sativa Inc. He is also the only presidential candidate ever to have climbed Mt. Everest.

All that may help explain how as a Republican he twice got elected governor of New Mexico, a light blue state that has voted Democratic in five of the last six presidential elections.

His running mate did the same. Former Massachusetts Republican governor Bill Weld is known for being a very moderate Republican, fiscally conservative but pro-choice — he even opposes banning partial-birth abortion — and pro-gay marriage.

A successful businessman, Johnson started a mechanical contracting company, Big J Enterprises, and turned it into one of New Mexico’s leading construction companies worth millions. He is a triathlete and lives in a home he built himself in Taos, New Mexico. He has climbed the tallest mountains on all seven continents. A widower, he is currently engaged to a real estate agent he met at a bike race.

Johnson’s Record

As a two-term governor — he was elected in 1994 and by a bigger margin in 1998 — Johnson’s record stood out for reducing the size of government. He had run on the slogan “People Before Politics” and for him that meant reducing the size of state government. After assuming office, he halted the 10 percent annual growth in the budget and eliminated 1,200 state employee jobs. He never raised taxes and instead cut them 14 times.

Former New Mexico Republican National Committee member Mickey D. Barnett described Johnson’s style this way: “Any time someone approached him about legislation for some purpose, his first response always was to ask if government should be involved in that to begin with.”

Some of his positions are the same as or close to mainstream Republican positions. (The Johnson/Weld platform can be found here.) He supports the FairTax and if elected president would abolish the Federal Reserve. As governor he tried (unsuccessfully) to implement school vouchers statewide.

However, many of Johnson’s other positions would not resonate well with Republicans.His campaign website claims that “Legalizing and regulating marijuana will save lives and make our communities safer by eliminating crime and creating an industry that can legitimately participate in America’s economy.” In addition to his support for legalizing marijuana use, he supports same-sex marriage, and believes federal law should prohibit businesses from refusing service for same-sex weddings. He boasts of promoting “marriage equality” before any of the Democrats.

Abortion, God, and the Wall

He says that abortion is a woman’s personal choice and should not be limited by the government, although as governor he supported efforts to ban late-term abortions and his campaign website says he “believes in the sanctity of the life of the unborn.” The website summarizes his view as “Appreciate Life. Respect Choice. Stay Out of Personal Decisions.” He had been more definite in a 2012 interview, declaring “I absolutely support a woman’s right to choose.”

Johnson does not consult God for advice in politics and does not believe religion has any role in politics. In the 2012 interview, he said “I don’t seek the counsel of God. God doesn’t speak to me on what I should or shouldn’t do.” He hasn’t gone to church since being confirmed in the Lutheran church.

Johnson’s views of foreign policy are more similar to Green candidate Jill Stein’s than to either of the major candidates, condemning most foreign involvements as “our meddling in the affairs of others.” This has hurt the United States much more than it has helped, he says. He vows to cut the military’s budget by 43 percent. He does not believe Iran is a threat, and would intervene to stop Israel from attacking Iran.

Rejecting one of Donald Trump’s signature policies, Johnson would not build a wall between the U.S. border and Mexico. Instead, he wants to make entering the country legally “simpler and more efficient” and to encourage immigrants to “assimilate with our diverse society.”

Johnson’s Campaigns

He ran for president in 2012, first as a Republican but then switched to the Libertarian party and got that party’s nomination. He received .99 percent of the vote (almost 1.3 million votes) in the general election, appearing on 48 state ballots. While running as a Republican candidate, he participated in one of GOP primary debates and made the memorable statement, “My next-door neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this administration.”

When asked in 2014 whether he would run as a Republican or Libertarian for president in 2016, he responded, “I would love running as a Libertarian because I would have the least amount of explaining to do.” (For more from the author of “The Minor Candidates: The Libertarian Gary Johnson” please click HERE)

Watch a recent interview with the author below:

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Study: Graphic Abortion Victim Images Swayed Pro-Abortion Views

/0 Comments/in , /by

Will seeing the dismembered body of an aborted child cause people to oppose abortion? According to a new study in Canada, showing people graphic images of abortion victims convinced some to be more pro-life. And while many claim that the use of what is called “abortion victim photography” makes people react against the pro-life movement, the study found that it had the opposite effect.

Seeing pictures of the unborn victims of abortion was linked to an increase in both the pro-life worldview and pro-life political views, and made many feel more negatively about abortion and thus favor less permissive abortion laws, according to the study. This was true of everyone from those who identified themselves a completely pro-life to those who were completely pro-abortion.

Pro-abortion sentiment dropped by about seven percent, according to the study’s executive report, which also claims that the use of such images is now “scientifically established as an effective tool.”

The study, commissioned by the group Created Equal and analyzed by Jacqueline Harvey, an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, was sponsored by the Canadian Center for Bioethical Reform. Both the institute and the center are openly pro-life. Harvey also teaches political science at Tarleton State University in Texas.

A Split Movement

The study was conducted using postcards with graphic images of abortion victims distributed at mailboxes across an entire zip code and before and after phone surveys. “Most of the items were statistically significant,” Harvey told The Stream, explaining that term means that the study “rules out the possibility that the random sample interviewed the second time just ‘happened’ to be more pro-life.”

Harvey noted that the pro-life movement has long been split on whether graphic images of abortion victims sway minds in a positive way. The respondents “indicated that the change they reported was due to the images,”she said, adding that “this confirms that the images were responsible for the change.”

“The graphic images are powerful and effective,” Human Life Review’s Ifeoma Anunkor told The Stream. “I attended the National Sidewalk Counseling Symposium in August. During a training session, a leading sidewalk counselor shared that in order to make the ideal pamphlet for abortion-minded women, she asked the abortion-minded women themselves, what pictures made them change their minds about abortion. The majority of the women said the picture of an aborted fetus.”

Former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, however, was more critical. “This study does not look at the effectiveness of graphic imagery in front of abortion facilities, which is where I do not support their use,” she explained in an e-mail to The Stream.

In my experience, and the experiences of almost 300 former abortion workers, we find them to be counterproductive in front of abortion facilities. They appear threatening and only present the abortion facility as a safe haven from the protestors outside. The majority of women who have abortions have already had children. They aren’t having an abortion because they think it’s a “mass of cells.” They are having an abortion because they lack resources or support.

Graphic images have been effectively used in other human rights campaigns, such as when fighting to end slavery in the United States. However, some pro-life advocates say showing images to children is inappropriate, and that post-abortive women could face PTSD and other issues when seeing the images.

According to Johnson, “I believe we should obtain consent before ever showing any graphic material. I do not oppose people using graphic imagery in some situations, but only where the person using the images has gained consent to show them.”

Though the debate within the pro-life movement over the wisdom of using such images will continue, the study establishes that they do move people to become more pro-life and less supportive of abortion. Indeed, the study found that people who identified as “liberal” shifted more in favor of life than conservatives. (For more from the author of “Study: Graphic Abortion Victim Images Swayed Pro-Abortion Views” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.