Fetal Dignity Protection Act

Sometimes in life, the way forward is murky; choices are muddled, lacking sharp edges, or stark lines to help us determine what is road and what is ditch…thankfully, our response to the recent revelations regarding Planned Parenthood and their wanton selling of the scraps of a child that result from an abortion is not like that at all.  This one is easy.

The Global Faith Institute exists to serve God, strengthen our faith and stand for right over wrong.  The depraved indifference toward unborn children exhibited in those videos is breathtaking.  As human beings, we cannot sit idly by as our political system turns a blind eye to atrocity.  Furthermore, as a Christian institute dedicated to justice and service, GFI cannot remain silent in the face of such brazen evil.  Given who we are and what we now know, the question echoes throughout our state…”What can we do?”

The recently released “behind the scenes” videos of Planned Parenthood officials and staff have caused tremendous consternation among those of us who value the sanctity of life from conception to natural death.  A horror, once witnessed, cannot be unseen or easily ignored.

The shock has reverberated throughout our national conscience, stirring millions to question the legitimacy of a legal structure that permits these unconscionable acts, and a political culture that turns a blind eye.

To many, it appears clear from both context and the actual statements seen on the videos that laws regarding the proper disposition of fetal remains are being disregarded on an unthinkable scale.

Worse, it seems that, despite the carefully parsed denials of the Planned Parenthood leadership (and their numerous media allies) the organization has been profiting handsomely from the sale of the post-abortion “products of gestation” we used to have the courage to describe as a baby.

Abortion is not the issue here.  As abhorrent a practice as I personally believe it to be, one does not need to be an opponent of abortion to feel a visceral repulsion to the actions and mindset revealed in these videos.

Since the first video came to light, I have personally struggled with a response.  I have spoken to friends, colleagues and family about my concerns and found those people to be as perplexed as I regarding appropriate action, now that depravity stares us in the face.

With the release of each video we found ourselves drawn more deeply down the rabbit hole, glimpsing a world where the harvesting of fetal organs and tissue for profit is not only acceptable, but calculated for maximum revenue.

After sleepless nights of research and agonized thoughts, I humbly offer a way forward; a path out of the weeds and into the fields, where our efforts today may yield a harvest of decency for decades to come.

As of this moment, I urge every citizen to call on Governor Pete Ricketts to immediately convene a Special Session of the Unicameral to consider the “Fetal Dignity Protection Act,” (FDPA) (see below).

The existing laws against the sale of fetal organs and tissue are Federal, and the investigation and enforcement functions rely on the prosecutorial discretion of the Obama Justice Department.

I believe many – if not most – Nebraskans would prefer to have that discretion held more closely – in the hands of our own State Attorney General and County attorneys.  The FDPA would accomplish this by mirroring the federal prohibitions, absent the necessity of “interstate commerce.”

This legislation doesn’t infringe upon or in any way inhibit a woman’s access to an abortion, as it isn’t applicable until the abortion has already been performed.  The FDPA simply requires that an abortion provider account for the disposition of each set of fetal remains, and refrain from selling the dismembered and dissected scraps of an unborn human child.

Honestly, even the corpses of our enemies in war are treated with greater respect and dignity than that granted fetal remains following an abortion.

This legislation has distinguished authorship; a great son of Nebraska, Mr. Patrick J. Borchers, an internationally recognized expert in law and arbitration, who has also served as dean of the Creighton University School of Law.

His legal rationale is sound, and the substance of the bill is easily understood and appropriately focused into a few short paragraphs.

Whether the behavior revealed in these videos is prosecutable federally or not, is immaterial.  With enactment of FDPA, we can ensure that, in Nebraska, such activities will indeed be prohibited, and material violations will be punishable under state law.

I would ask three things of you today –

Immediately share this post on your wall and with your friends.  Copy and paste the entire thing into an email to everyone in your contact list.  Talk about it… often.

Next, contact your State Senator today, by phone and email, and ask them to express to the Governor their support for a Special Session to address this issue.

Finally, call AND email the Governor’s office, also today.  Insist he convene a Special Session to preserve the dignity of the innocent, and to hold accountable those who would attempt to profit from their tiny lifeless bodies.

These three steps are the answer to the original question…this is “what we can do” immediately, and to great effect.  Don’t let another day pass without standing up for basic human decency.

For links to contact your State Senator and the Governor’s office,; to gather more information and a downloadable copy of the proposed legislation, or to volunteer your support, go to fetaldignity.org.

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Fetal Dignity Protection Act

Be it enacted by the people of the state of Nebraska,

Section 1:  This law may be referred to and cited as the “Fetal Dignity Protection Act.”

Section 2:  It shall be unlawful for any person acting within the State to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human fetal tissue for valuable consideration.  As used in this Act, “valuable consideration” includes, but is not limited to, reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with the acquisition, receipt or transfer of the fetal tissue. As used in this Act, “human fetal tissue” means tissue or cells obtained from a dead human embryo or fetus after a spontaneous or induced abortion, or after a stillbirth.

Section 3: Any person who performs abortions within the State must file annual reports as to the treatment of each aborted human fetus.  If a corporation or other entity employs, or engages as independent contractors, one or more persons who conduct abortions, the corporation or entity shall file a report on behalf of all persons conducting abortions while in its employ or with whom it contracts.  However, the person conducting the abortions shall have an affirmative duty to ensure that the report filed on the person’s behalf is true and accurate. The report shall exclude the name and all identifying information as to the woman from whom the fetus was aborted.  The Director of the Department of Health and Human Services shall create a form for reporting the treatment of each fetus and the report shall be filed with the Department of Health and Human Services and available for public inspection.  The Director may make such rules and regulations as are necessary and proper to carrying out the purposes of this Act.

Section 4:  Willful and material failure to comply with this Act shall be a Class IV felony.  The Attorney General may seek in the District Court of the County in which abortions are performed an injunction preventing the further conduction of abortions by any person violating this Act.  The District Court shall grant such injunction if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person conducting the abortions has willfully and materially violated this Act.  If the person conducting abortions did so while in the employ of, or under contract with, a corporation or entity that corporation or entity shall also be named as a party. The injunction shall prevent the further conduction of abortions by that corporation or other entity.