by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator
A Catholic Priest, A Jewish Rabbi and a Baptist minister were discussing the beginning of life.
The Priest said, “Life begins at conception. The Rabbi said he believe at birth. The Baptist minister thought for a minute and said, “I believe life begins when the last child leaves home and the dog dies.”
While there are different opinions about when life begins, what is the answer to the question, “When does life end?” Most of us would agree when we breath our last breath is when it’s over for us. However, too often the ending of life is even more grim than us fighting for a breath of air and then we are nothing but a body of flesh and bone for some else to dispose.
Too often life for many ends months or maybe even years before our final physical moment. Actually, possibly it has already happened to you and you haven’t even realized that you are already dead. You died and you didn’t even know it. You’ve been starring at your television, scrolling through social media and maybe even walking around the aisle of the grocery store just as dead as old King Tut, but not physically, just mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
It happens to the best of people. You lose all interest in life. You have nothing that you look forward to. There is nothing you particularly want to do. No place you really want to go and nobody you want to be around. You’re dying, because you’ve given up.
There are several scenarios that can bring us to this motionless zombie stage of life. Losing a spouse, losing a job, losing a child, a business failure, financial failure, a major sickness or just outliving all your family and your friends. Too often people detach themselves from everyone or anything going on which limits their activity and interest even more.
No doubt crippling disease changers our personalities and our interests. Battling cancer, diabetes, a neurological disease or take your pick of many more, changes our attitude about wanting to be out and about and doing what we use to do. Going to church, the local Kiwanis
Meeting, or singing in the community choir may not have the same appeal.
Regardless of what you or a loved one has going on it’s well to take notice of this stage of life and not be too hard on your friend or yourself. Here is what you must try:
1. Keep moving. Move whatever you can. Even if you are wheel chair bound, move your mind and whatever part of your body that you can move.
2. Keep doing. Do something. Read, pray, exercise, go to church, walk. Clean your house. Work a job, mentor people. Be a friend to others. Use your imagination.
3. Keep trying. As long as you can breathe, don’t quit.
4. Have something to look forward to. This can be anything. Someone’s birthday. A trip to the store. Moving the yard. A family gathering. A weekend trip, a movie, church, it can be most anything.
5. Enjoy whatever you do. Laugh and have a good time.
The only person who can keep you down is yourself. Your number one obstacle is usually yourself. If we can overcome what we mentally put ourselves through then we have a good chance of a good day. A good thought to add here, is the scripture, “If God be for us who can be against us?” Romans 8:21 Another one is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Now, go and have a good day!
About the author ~
Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.
The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.
Abortion is a critical, if not the most important, issue for many voters – especially women, according to polls – ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.
Harris and Trump have starkly different track records on abortion.
Harris and Trump have starkly different track records on abortion. As an academic, my scholarship focuses on reproductive health law, health care law and family law. In this piece, and in anticipation of the election, I briefly consider the broad strokes of each candidate’s past positions on and actions regarding abortion.
Harris’ abortion record
As California’s attorney general, Harris co-sponsored the Reproductive FACT Act, which, among other requirements, mandated that crisis pregnancy centers inform patients that they are not licensed medical facilities and that abortion services are available elsewhere. These centers are nonprofit organizations that counsel pregnant people against abortion, sometimes using deceptive tactics.
As a U.S. senator, Harris opposed anti-abortion bills that would have conferred personhood rights on fetuses.
In 2017, Harris investigated the tactics of undercover videographers at Planned Parenthood clinics who, through deception and fraud, sought to entrap clinicians into making controversial, though legal, statements, and who possibly contravened state law on secret recordings.
Conversely, Harris championed various bills that would have protected and advanced reproductive rights. In 2019, for example, Harris was a co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have enacted a federal statutory right to abortion. It also did not pass.
Finally, during Harris’ tenure as vice president, the Biden administration has used its executive power to ease barriers to abortion access, primarily through federal agency actions. The Food and Drug Administration, for example, removed a rule in 2021 that prohibited mailing medication abortion.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance affirming that federal law requires emergency rooms to perform an abortion when it is medically necessary to stabilize a patient needing urgent care.
The Biden-Harris administration also supported federal legislation that includes accommodations for abortion. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, enacted in 2023, requires employers to provide time off for a worker’s miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion.
Trump began his presidency in 2016 by promising to appoint Supreme Court justices who wouldoverturn Roe v. Wade.
Although the Biden-Harris administration’s abortion policy is not necessarily based on just the vice president, Harris, since Roe’s reversal, has been at the helm of the administration’s “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, speaking nationally in support of a right to abortion. Harris has also stressed the damage done in 14 states, in particular, where abortion is banned throughout pregnancy or after six weeks of gestation.
Trump’s abortion record
During Trump’s tenure as president, he supported various changes – in the form of judicial appointments, federal funding and agency actions, some led by anti-abortion federal employees – in the service of making it harder for people to gain access to abortion care.
Trump began his presidency in 2016 by promising to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. He nominated three justices – Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch – who joined the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, reversing Roe in June 2022.
The Trump administration unsuccessfully tried to replace the Affordable Care Act and undermine its coverage for contraceptives as well as its neutral stance on insurance coverage for abortion. Trump supported bills such as the never-passed American Health Care Act to limit abortion coverage in private health insurance plans.
Trump also appointed several people with anti-abortion positions to his administration, including Charmaine Yoest, the former CEO for the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life, who served as a top communications official at the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Trump administration advanced numerous other anti-abortion policies. For instance, the Department of Human and Health Services’ 2017 strategic plan defined life as beginning at conception – a decision that supported funding for crisis pregnancy centers and abstinence-only education programs.
Finally, the Trump administration adopted an anti-abortion approach when it came to foreign policy. Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, also known as the Global Gag Rule, which prohibits foreign nongovernmental organizations that receive U.S. funding from performing abortions or referring patients for abortion care elsewhere. Under the Mexico City Policy, Trump in 2017 removed US$8.8 billion in U.S. foreign aid for overseas programs that provide or refer for abortions.
In the coming weeks, both candidates will have a lot to say about abortion, possibly refining or changing their stances on aspects of abortion law. In assessing what both candidates have to say about how their administration will approach abortion, voters might consider what we know about their past actions.
Trump campaigned on a promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. In the White House, Trump supported a failed effort to do just that. He repeatedly said he would dismantle the health care law in campaign stops and social media posts throughout 2023.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, shared a debate stage June 27 for the first time since 2020, in a confrontation that — because of strict debate rules — managed to avoid the near-constant interruptions that marred their previous encounters.
Biden, who spoke in a raspy voice and often struggled to articulate his arguments, said at one point that his administration “finally beat Medicare.” Trump, meanwhile, repeated numerous falsehoods, including that Democrats want doctors to be able to abort babies after birth.
Illustration: Richard Duijnstee/Pixabay
Trump took credit for the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that upended Roe v. Wade and returned abortion policy to states. “This is what everybody wanted,” he said, adding “it’s been a great thing.” Biden’s response: “It’s been a terrible thing.”
In one notable moment, Trump said he would not repeal FDA approval for medication abortion, used last year in nearly two-thirds of U.S. abortions. Some conservatives have targeted the FDA’s more than 20-year-old approval of the drug mifepristone to further restrict access to abortion nationwide.
“The Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill. And I agree with their decision to have done that, and I will not block it,” Trump said. The Supreme Court ruled this month that an alliance of anti-abortion medical groups and doctors lacked standing to challenge the FDA’s approval of the drug. The court’s ruling, however, did not amount to an approval of the drug.
CNN hosted the debate, which had no audience, at its Atlanta headquarters. CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderated. The debate format allowed CNN to mute candidates’ microphones when it wasn’t their turn to speak.
Our PolitiFact partners fact-checked the debate in real time as Biden and Trump clashed on the economy, immigration, and abortion, and revisited discussion of their ages. Biden, 81, has become the oldest sitting U.S. president; if Trump defeats him, he would end his second term at age 82. You can read the full coverage here and excerpts detailing specific health-related claims follow:
Biden: “We brought down the price [of] prescription drug[s], which is a major issue for many people, to $15 for an insulin shot, as opposed to $400.”
Half True. Biden touted his efforts to reduce prescription drug costs by referring to the $35 monthly insulin price cap his administration put in place as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. But he initially flubbed the number during the debate, saying it was lowered to $15. In his closing statement, Biden corrected the amount to $35.
The price of insulin for Medicare enrollees, starting in 2023, dropped to $35 a month, not $15. Drug pricing experts told PolitiFact when it rated a similar claim that most Medicare enrollees were likely not paying a monthly average of $400 before the changes, although because costs vary depending on coverage phases and dosages, some might have paid that much in a given month.
Trump: “I’m the one that got the insulin down for the seniors.”
Mostly False. When he was president, Trump instituted the Part D Senior Savings Model, a program that capped insulin costs at $35 a month for some older Americans in participating drug plans.
But because it was voluntary, only 38% of all Medicare drug plans, including Medicare Advantage plans, participated in 2022, according to KFF. Trump’s plan also covered only one form of each dosage and insulin type.
Biden points to the Inflation Reduction Act’s mandatory $35 monthly insulin cap as a major achievement. This cap applies to all Medicare prescription plans and expanded to all covered insulin types and dosages. Although Trump’s model was a start, it did not have the sweeping reach that Biden’s mandatory cap achieved.
Biden: Trump “wants to get rid of the ACA again.”
Half True. In 2016, Trump campaigned on a promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. In the White House, Trump supported a failed effort to do just that. He repeatedly said he would dismantle the health care law in campaign stops and social media posts throughout 2023. In March, however, Trump walked back this stance, writing on his Truth Social platform that he “isn’t running to terminate” the ACA but to make it “better” and “less expensive.” Trump hasn’t said how he would do this. He has often promised Obamacare replacement plans without ever producing one.
Trump: “The problem [Democrats] have is they’re radical, because they will take the life of a child in the eighth month, the ninth month, and even after birth.”
False. Willfully terminating a newborn’s life is infanticide and illegal in every U.S. state.
Most elected Democrats who have spoken publicly about this have said they support abortion under Roe v. Wade’s standard, which allowed access up to fetal viability — typically around 24 weeks of pregnancy, when the fetus can survive outside the womb. Many Democrats have also said they support abortions past this point if the treating physician deems it necessary.
Medical experts say situations resulting in fetal death in the third trimester are rare — fewer than 1% of abortions in the U.S. occur after 21 weeks — and typically involve fatal fetal anomalies or life-threatening emergencies affecting the pregnant person. For fetuses with very short life expectancies, doctors may induce labor and offer palliative care. Some families choose this option when facing diagnoses that limit their babies’ survival to minutes or days after delivery.
Some Republicans who have made claims similar to Trump’s point to Democratic support of the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022, which would have prohibited many state government restrictions on access to abortion, citing the bill’s provisions that say providers and patients have the right to perform and receive abortion services without certain limitations or requirements that would impede access. Anti-abortion advocates say the bill, which failed in the Senate by a 49-51 vote, would have created a loophole that eliminated any limits on abortions later in pregnancy.
Alina Salganicoff, director of KFF’s Women’s Health Policy program, said the legislation would have allowed health providers to perform abortions without obstacles such as waiting periods, medically unnecessary tests and in-person visits, or other restrictions. The bill would have allowed an abortion after viability when, according to the bill, “in the good-faith medical judgment of the treating health care provider, continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the pregnant patient’s life or health.”
Trump: “Social Security, he’s destroying it, because millions of people are pouring into our country, and they’re putting them onto Social Security. They’re putting them onto Medicare, Medicaid.”
False. It’s wrong to say that immigration will destroy Social Security. Social Security’s fiscal challenges stem from a shortage of workers compared with beneficiaries.
Immigration is far from a fiscal fix-all for Social Security’s challenges. But having more immigrants in the United States would likely increase the worker-to-beneficiary ratio, potentially for decades, thus extending the program’s solvency.
Most immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission are also ineligible for Social Security. However, people who entered the U.S. without authorization and were granted humanitarian parole — temporary permission to stay in the country — for more than one year are eligible for benefits from the program.
Immigrants lacking legal residency in the U.S. are generally ineligibleto enroll in federally funded health care coverage such as Medicare and Medicaid. (Some states provide Medicaid coverage under state-funded programs regardless of immigration status. Immigrants are eligible for emergency Medicaid regardless of their legal status.)
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
Subscribe to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.
A woman has never told me she felt good about her abortion. For 39 years I served in pastoral roles in different places. I had numerous women tell me they felt like they had no choice. Some said they felt pressured to abort. Many were medical emergency situations and it was life or death for the mother.
A dear family I’ve known for a few years lost their daughter and the baby in what was supposed to be a delightful day of bringing a new baby into the world. Things went terribly wrong and they both died. Twenty-five years after that event the family still grieves that day. They would give anything to have their daughter and her baby back.
One of the hardest days of my life was when we had a full-term baby who apparently died about a day before the scheduled birth.
My late wife was very sick when she gave birth to our second son. She and he made it but it was a very treacherous night. Thankfully we had good medical care.
On too many occasions to count, we lost numerous babies. The pregnancy would start failing often times about two to three months into the pregnancy and the doctor would have to do a D and C. The babies had stopped growing or there was some other kind of internal malfunction.
One of the hardest days of my life was when we had a full-term baby who apparently died about a day before the scheduled birth. There was some kind of kink in the umbilical cord that had cut off oxygen to the baby. I was on cloud nine watching the birth of my two prior sons. I walked through hell the day I watched them deliver our dead son. For hours I sat in a room holding our him and weeping like I had never wept before.
I put my hand on that baby’s face and begged God to let him wake and start breathing. What I wouldn’t do today or give to have that child Jesse Caleb Mollette in my life.
The pain of losing that child was devastating to my wife.
The point of all this is most women and men are not crazed baby killers, although abortion statistics indicate we have had a problem in this nation. In 2020 there were 639,898 abortions in America according to Pew Research org. Were all of those performed to save the life of the mother? Were many of them performed because rape or incest had taken place? I do not have the statistics to answer that question, if really good statistics are even available.
The hard reality is that sometimes a medically necessary abortion has to take place to save the life of the mother. Often, the fetus stops developing or begins to abort on its own and medical care is necessary. Women should never have to leave their state to obtain the care they need. Our local and federal government should never put women’s health in these kinds of dangerous situations.
Federal and state governments must take a realistic look at what they are expecting of women and try to put themselves in their places. I think we have too many 75-year-old men determining what should or shouldn’t be for young adult women. Or, maybe we have some older women politicians who have never been through a traumatic pregnancy.
If I go to my doctor for an appendicitis procedure, I don’t what him having to involve the Attorney General or state supreme court in my healthcare. It should be between my doctor and me. The same should be so for pregnant women. Their care should be between them and their doctors. Keep the politicians out of it.
If one of these old politicians is going to have their hemorrhoids cut out, they must likely don’t want the county attorney or judge up there too.
It’s a touchy issue. I’m for life all the way. I’m also for common sense. Something to keep in mind is that regardless of your party affiliation, religious beliefs, or who you know the best person for the job is, women and the abortion issue will decide the 2024 election outcome.
He is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.
Planned Parenthood strongly believes the electorate will ultimately decide the issue
by Mark Richardson Illinois News Connection
Illinois - Women's health groups in Illinois and across the country are angered by a pair of federal court rulings last month on the abortion drug mifepristone.
A Texas judge's ruling rolled back the federal Food and Drug Administration's approval, effectively banning the drug.
The same day, a Washington State judge ruled the FDA must keep medication abortion drugs available in over a dozen Democratic-led states, including Illinois.
Everything is currently on hold while an appeals court sorts it out. Cristina Villarreal, chief of external affairs at Planned Parenthood of Illinois, said the Texas ruling was the result of "judge shopping" by anti-abortion groups.
"With the Texas case," said Villarreal, "it's kind of ridiculous that a judge in Texas can make decisions for people who can become pregnant in Illinois, where we have clearly said we support the right to choose."
Mifepristone was approved in 2000 by the FDA. The drug has been used by over 5 million patients.
However, in his ruling, Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk suggests the FDA had not properly tested the drug and has ordered it off the market.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, essentially giving the power to states to regulate abortion access.
Since then, most "red" states have put restrictions on the procedure, while others have made abortions generally available.
Villarreal said Planned Parenthood strongly believes the electorate will ultimately decide the issue.
"In the ballot box, we've seen that voters are - again and again - trying to protect the right to choose," said Villarreal. "We know that the American public supports access to abortion care."
In the meantime, Villarreal said Planned Parenthood of Illinois will continue to offer all abortion-care options available.
Reproductive-rights advocates took to the streets across Illinois and the U.S. over the weekend to protest the new Texas law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, the nation's most restrictive abortion law. It is one of 90 anti-abortion bills that have been passed by state legislatures.
Brigid Leahy, senior director of public policy for Planned Parenthood Illinois, said they already are seeing Texas patients fleeing the ban and traveling long distances to get care.
"It's over 1,000 miles to get to Illinois, but people are doing that," Leahy reported. "And there are people who cannot travel. The barriers are just too much, and they are being forced to continue pregnancies that they do not want to continue."
The events -- 600 total nationwide -- came days before today's start of the U.S. Supreme Court session, during which judges plan to hear a case concerning a 15-week Mississippi abortion law, which, if upheld, could overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Leahy noted when former President Donald Trump took office and promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would be amenable to overturning Roe v. Wade, Illinois lawmakers began working on bills to protect the right to abortion at the state level, such as the Reproductive Health Act of 2019.
She pointed out many states are taking similar steps, but many others are now going the other way, including many Midwestern states.
"It was really important to recognize the full range of those rights and put them in our state law so that when Roe v Wade falls, we are protected in Illinois, not just for the people in Illinois, but the people in the states surrounding us," Leahy contended.
Polls show nearly 7 in 10 Americans support the decision establishing a woman's right to an abortion, and more than 900 state lawmakers from 45 states recently signed a letter urging the Supreme Court to uphold Roe v. Wade in their decision on the Mississippi law.
Much of America is mourning the passing of Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg this evening. Nominated by President Bill Clinton and taking her place on the bench just 26 days later, Ginsberg died of complication from cancer today at the age of 87.
Known by her initials RGB, she was heroine, a guiding light and courageous champion of women's rights in the highest court of law in this country. Ginsburg was the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court after Sandra Day O'Connor. She protected abortion rights and a wide range of other progressive ideals on an otherwise conservative Supreme Court.
"It’s honestly terrifying," said Tasha Shadden, a 2011 graduate from St. Joseph-Ogden High School currently working toward a masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. "She was the voice for gender equality and reproductive rights and losing that is a huge loss for women. It’s hands down the worst part of 2020 so far."
Like Shadden, Doctor Suzanne Ford, who graduated from the University Of Illinois College Of Veterinary Medicine in 2019, was a distance runner with the SJO running program. She said Ginsberg's showed strength and passion in her final days.
"Ruth Bader Ginsberg was an inspiration to so many women as she broke through the glass ceiling in the world of law, as not many women attended law school at the time that she did. She stood up for what was right and fair at all costs, and fought for equality for women, especially in education, paving the way for women such as myself to not be discriminated against in our pursuit of education.
"She was firm and known for her fierce dissents, which made her a role model for so many to stand up for what they believe is right, even when that’s against the majority. As she aged, RBG battled cancer yet remained active and continued to serve on the Supreme Court, which shows her strength and passion to uphold a fair and just legal system for our country. Even with her popularity, she remained humble. She is a hero to so many of us and will be greatly missed."
"I was shocked by the news. I've just spent the last 30 minutes being bombarded by text messages by female leaders and friends around the country who are devastated. Many see this as another blow that 2020 has dealt us. With the sadness, also comes a renewed determination to fight for justice and to step up campaign support efforts because of the fear that conservative political leaders will push a replacement before the election. There is a sense of needing to fight harder.
For me, she has always represented someone who works hard and uses all her smarts and skills to work within the system for lasting change. She has inspired so many women of all ages that they can make a difference in their own way and in their own spheres. Her plain talk has given words to what we all feel.
I also keep thinking....who is going to step up and inspire us next?
St. Joseph's Jennifer Tuttle hopes whoever replaces Ginsberg, mirrors the strength and determination she was known for by her admirers.
"Clearly she had a big part in women’s rights in the us," said Tuttle, General Manager of Champaign's Red Lobster. "I viewed her as a helper, one that always wanted to try to find common ground. She was a lady first, yet still showed independence. Hopefully, the next person to take the spot shows the same class that she did."
With less than two months before the presidential election, Ginsburg's passing will surely deepen and already polarized country making its way through a controversial pandemic, economic decline, and civil unrest in cities around the country.
President Donald Trump will likely become the first president since Richard Nixon to confirm three supreme court justices in a single term. Washington will be political battleground as Republicans will undoubtedly at the President's insistence push through a nominee before November.
Ginsberg will be laid to rest at the Arlington National Cemetery.
PONTIAC - People everywhere are conquering their cabin fever and are enjoying the great outdoors after a long, bitter winter. But before you head out for that hike, health care experts remind you to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Read more . . .
CHICAGO - An Illinois law professor is weighing in on what she called a "very public and open test of due process" for immigrants being deported from the United States without court hearings. Read more . . .
CHAMPAIGN - In a show of solidarity against President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies, which critics say are harming families and retirement savings, more than a thousand protesters gathered Saturday at West Park near downtown Champaign for the Hands-Off! Mobilization rally. Read more . . .
Photo Galleries
A couple of runners found themselves in the wrong race at this year's Illinois Marathon. Over 60 photos from the race that you should see.
by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator
