PLLDF ADDRESSES STUDENTS AT IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY SCHOOL
On March 27, 2017 Law student Brittanie Nichols and PLLDF’s President, Bob Joyce, addressed students at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School as part of its annual program in memory of the life of Terry Schiavo. Brittanie inspired the students with her warm and insightful account of her personal history of helping women with unplanned…
MASS. ALLIANCE TO STOP TAXPAYER FUNDED ABORTION
The Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Public Funding of Abortion expects to begin gathering signatures in mid-September 2017 to amend the Massachusetts Constitution by initiative petition. The proposed amendment would amend the constitution by adding one sentence: “No provision of this constitution shall be construed as requiring the public funding of abortion.” The proposed amendment would…
2017 CENTURY DINNER SPEECHES
PLLDF is pleased to announce that Bioethics Defense Fund Co-Founders, and 2017 Thomas More Award recipients, Nikolas Nikas and Dorinda Bordlee, have consented to have their presentations posted on PLLDF social media. We invite you to view the inspiring presentations by Attorney Nikas (12:43), and Attorney Bordlee (16:07), as well as PLLDF’s President’s report (15:16),…
2017 CENTURY DINNER
PLLDF held its annual Century Dinner on Friday, April 28th at the Boston-Newton Marriott. It was a huge success! Co-directors of the nationally renowned Bioethics Defense Fund, Attorneys Dorinda Bordlee and Nikolas Nikas, were presented with the prestigious Thomas More Award. The dinner was a time to celebrate the accomplishments of PLLDF and the entire pro-life…
BIOETHICS DEFENSE FUND LECTURE
Co-founders Dorinda Bordlee and Nikolas Nikas of the nationally renowned Bioethics Defense Fund (BDF) gave a free presentation prior to the 2017 PLLDF Century Dinner. PLLDF is happy to report that over 40 people attended this inspiring, educational event. Attorneys Bordlee and Nikas presented on the critical and timely issues of “Natural law: Cloning, Chimeras,…
PLLDF REACHES OUT TO DIVERSE GROUPS OF ATTORNEYS
Regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religion or creed, many attorneys are concerned about the protection of liberty from conception through natural death. For over 40 years PLLDF’s pro bono attorneys have been promoting respect for human life in trial and appellate courts from Massachusetts to the United States Supreme Court. PLLDF advocates on behalf…
A SHOWING OF HUSH AT HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
In 2017, PLLDF joined representatives of the Harvard Law Students for Life and the (undergraduate) Harvard Right to Life organizations for a showing of HUSH at Harvard University. Here’s what some of the students had to say about HUSH: “I have always been pro-life and I have always held the belief that to be pro-life is to be…
RADIO COR MARIAE HOST CATHERINE JENKINS INTERVIEWS PLLDF PRESIDENT BOB JOYCE
This 2017 unedited 36-minute interview includes an overview of PLLDF, together with a description of some of its past accomplishments and current projects. We hope you will find it informative and inspiring. Listen here.
THE HUMAN LIFE REVIEW BLOG ARTICLE ON PHYSICIAN-PRESCRIBED SUICIDE IN MA.
A 2017 article titled Battling Phyisican-prescribed Suicide in Massachusetts, co-authored by Lori Brannigan Kelly and PLLDF Board Member Robert W. Joyce, was published on the Human Life Review Blog. Read more on the Human Life Review Blog here.
SCREENING OF THE GOSNELL MOVIE, COMING TO THEATERS IN 2018
A special pre-distribution FREE screening of the Gosnell movie, coming to theaters in 2018, was held on November 10, 2016 at Boston College. Gosnell is a feature film about America’s most prolific serial killer, and the fight to bring him to justice. It shows how the political establishment knew of his activities but allowed Gosnell (now serving three…
CLONING, CHIMERAS, AND THE BRAVE NEW WORLD
In 2016, PLLDF provided several opportunities for lawyers, law students, undergraduates, and the general pubic to hear Bioethics Defense Fund (BDF) Co-Founder and President, Attorney Nikolas Nikas, deliver enlightening presentations related to the origins of life and the end of life. One presentation was titled “Natural Law: Cloning, Chimeras, Animal-Human Hybrids, 3-Parent Embryos: What Every Lawyer and…
PLLDF DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER ROY SCARPATO GIVES INTERVIEW ON LIFE MATTERS
PLLDF Director and Founder Roy Scarpato was interviewed by Brendan O’Connell on the cable television show titled Life Matters. For an interesting review of the history of the pro-life movement in Massachusetts from Roe v. Wade onward, we invite you to watch the 30-minute interview presented in the following two parts. Life Matters – Roy Scarpato – Part 1 Life Matters – Roy Scarpato – Part 2
PLLDF FILES U.S. SUPREME COURT AMICI CURIAE BRIEF IN LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR CASE
On January 11, 2016 PLLDF board members Dwight Duncan and Colbe Mazzarella filed a brief at the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on behalf of Amici Curiae residents and families of residents at homes of the Little Sisters of the Poor in the case of Zubik, et. al. v. Burwell. Attorneys Duncan and…
2016 CENTURY DINNER: ROY SCARPATO RECEIVES PLLDF’S PRESTIGIOUS THOMAS MORE AWARD
On April 22nd, Roy Scarpato, one of PLLDF’s founders and a Massachusetts pro-life icon who has devoted more than 40 years of faithful advocacy for innocent life, was honored with the Thomas More Award at our 2016 Annual Century Dinner. Below are video clips from this great event! [wpvideo jbt5MwuD] [wpvideo j6XRpp41]
BLOG ARTICLE: PLLDF’S EFFORTS TO HELP THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR
On January 12, 2016, the NewBostonPost published an article about the efforts of PLLDF volunteers to help the Little Sisters of the Poor by submitting an amicus brief in their challenge to offensive provisions in the Affordable Care Act. The case will be argued before the United States Supreme Court this spring. Compliments to Prof.…
CURRENT LEGAL LIFE ISSUES SEMINAR
On Saturday, April 25, 2015, lawyers, law professors, students and supporters came together for PLLDF’s first seminar on Contemporary Legal Life Issues. Professor Dwight G. Duncan explained Massachusetts abortion law peculiarities, including public funding for abortions for indigents under the state constitution and the history of the parental consent/judicial bypass for minors. Michael J. DePrimo,…
INTERVIEW REGARDING PLLDF – THEN AND NOW
On September 3, 2015, PLLDF President Bob Joyce was interviewed by Brendan O’Connell on the cable television show titled Life Matters. PLLDF’s history and activities are explained during this 25-minute interview. Click Here to Watch Part 1 Click Here to Watch Part 2
POTENTIAL LIFE-AFFIRMING AMENDMENT TO CONSTITUTION IN MASS
During 2015, PLLDF volunteers cooperated with the Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Public Funding of Abortion (“Alliance”) to gather signatures for an important proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the Massachusetts legislature to promote life through restricting the public funding of abortion. The proposed amendment provided that: NO PROVISION OF THIS CONSTITUTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS…
PLLDF TESTIFIES AT THE STATE HOUSE REGARDING PHYSICIAN-PRESCRIBED SUICIDE
The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health held a public hearing on October 27, 2015 regarding HB No. 1991, the so-called Massachusetts Compassionate Care for the Terminally Ill Act. PLLDF submitted oral and written testimony before attentive members of the committee. Read the oral testimony here: 151028 – PAS Bill (HB 1991) – final oral testimony at…
2015 CENTURY DINNER – A SUCCESS!
100 guests enjoyed an evening of pro-life socializing, education and merriment at PLLDF’s 2015 Century Dinner on April 25th. Master of Ceremonies Tom Harvey again entertained the gathering with song. Attorney Michael J. DePrimo, who received the 2015 Thomas More Award, inspired guests with an insightful summary of the development of a critical component of…
NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: FEMINISM FAILING WOMEN
In March 2015, PLLDF Board Member Bridget L. Fay, Esq. was published at National Review Online. Her article is titled “The American Feminist Establishment Does a Disservice to Women Through its Divisive, Relentless Focus On Abortion Rights”. Read more on National Review’s website here.
PROFESSOR COMMENTS ON THE USE OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS
Associate Professor Emeritus Frank McLaughlin is continuing his defense of human life notwithstanding his retirement after 52 years of faithful service on the Boston College faculty. On 2/21/15, he wrote a compelling response on The Boston Globe website succinctly presenting the scientific and philosophical argument against the use of embryonic stem cells for medical treatment. The…
AFTER MCCULLEN: BACKDOOR BUFFER ZONE BILL CHILLS FREE SPEECH
July 29, 2014. Boston, Massachusetts. Michael DePrimo, an attorney for Eleanor McCullen, the lead plaintiff in the 9-0 decision in McCullen v. Coakley, issued the following statement regarding the passage of the new Massachusetts buffer zone law: “The new buffer zone law is a backdoor attempt to interfere with the constitutional right of free speech in…
A “SCIENTIFIC” BASIS TO OPPOSE ABORTION-INDUCING BIRTH CONTROL?
The 2014 United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. held that, under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), closely-held family-run businesses whose owners have sincere religious objection to participating in abortion (by providing abortifacient contraceptives through the company health plan) are not bound…
WHAT THE SUPREME COURT DID (AND DIDN’T DO) TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
On July 1, Magna Carta, in one of its four surviving original copies, the one from Lincoln Cathedral, began a U.S. Tour with an exhibit at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. The legal document, dating from June 15, 1215 — which means it’s celebrating its eight-hundredth anniversary — begins and ends with King John guaranteeing…
HOBBY LOBBY AND WIDESPREAD CONFUSION ABOUT WHEN PREGNANCY BEGINS
Is there a huge hole in the news coverage about mandatory contraceptive health insurance? The answer is yes. The question is why. There is almost a media blackout of any detailed explanation about WHY the Green family, owner of the Hobby Lobby store chain, is willing to provide 16 of the 20 federally required forms…
SAVING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR THE TIME BEING
On the last day of its term, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., the religious-freedom challenge to the requirement that employers provide free coverage for contraceptives that can cause abortion by preventing the implantation of a human embryo…