Leaven for the Loaf marks ten years with anthology “Pro-Life Journeys”

I started this blog in April 2012. Early in 2022, with the ten-year anniversary approaching, I decided that creating a short anthology of posts would be a nice way to celebrate. The project took much longer than I expected. Who knew a book of less than eighty pages could require a dozen drafts?…uh…pretty much every author I consulted during the process, that’s who. Live and learn.

I’m happy to offer the finished product, in e-book format. Pro-Life Journeys is now available as a Kindle e-book on Amazon.com. A paperback version is in the works, and it will be available on Amazon as well.

Selecting the posts to include was difficult, but I think you’ll agree that the people whose stories I share are worth hearing about again – or reading about for the first time, if you’re new to the blog. For example, I’ve included the story of the families whose persistence led to New Hampshire’s fetal homicide law. There are interviews with people who work in pregnancy care centers. There are stories shared with me by former abortion workers, one local and one nationally-known. Those are just a few of the people you’ll encounter in the book. I take note of a couple of policy debates as well.

I called the final chapter “The Journey Ahead.” What can people committed to the right to life do now, in a post-Dobbs environment? I offer what I hope are constructive thoughts about that.

Pro-Life Journeys distills ten years of posts down to a short collection of stories about memorable people whose words and work can inspire us. I hope the e-book finds a place in your library!

By the way, you don’t need a Kindle tablet to read the e-book. The Kindle app is available via Google Play and the Apple Store for use on other devices.

If you like what you read, please help me share the news! Every self-published book including Pro-Life Journeys depends on readers’ reviews, social media posts, and good old-fashioned word-of-mouth. Let’s enjoy this particular journey as a team.

To all the blog’s readers, thank you for giving Leaven for the Loaf its staying power. Here’s to more years ahead.

News You Can Use (I Hope!)

Subscribers to my email newsletter know that not only do I not send spam, but I go for long periods without sending anything at all. (You’re welcome.) There’s lots of news now, though, so check your inbox for these goodies:

• How to get one of the few available tickets for a free showing of the “Unplanned” movie in Hooksett on Tuesday evening, April 2
• Upcoming events at each of New Hampshire’s three 40 Days for Life campaigns
• “Concord 101” seminars, where I join Cornerstone Action’s Neil Hubacker for an overview of state government and how citizens can get involved

Not in your inbox yet? Never fear: just click here to read the details.

Not a subscriber yet? I’d love to send you occasional brief and varied updates with pro-life news, along with items related to my assorted writing projects (for example Granite State Walker, where I explore some of our great trails in southern New Hampshire).

You can sign up for my mailing list at this link, and I thank you!

A Bit of Housekeeping

I ask the indulgence of my discerning readers as I dispose of a bit of housekeeping. Please follow along and I promise we’ll get back to changing the world ASAP.

• I’m no longer an Amazon Affiliate, meaning any purchases you make via links on this site no longer give me a commission. I recommend you channel your Amazon purchases through Amazon Smile instead, which will let you boost participating charities, including but not limited to Catholic Charities of New Hampshire (which includes Our Place and the St. Charles Children’s Home), Birthrights of Southern N.H. (Derry) and Manchester, and New Generation shelter in Greenland.
• Sponsors and supporters of the blog help keep it going. You can still donate via PayPal or by check payable to yours truly. Nothing has changed there: such donations are not tax-deductible to you; they’re taxable income to me; and I use them only to defray blog expenses including tech support and travel to events from which I report.
• New newsletter: about a third of subscribers to the old soon-to-be-discontinued Leaven for the Loaf newsletter have made the switch to my new newsletter covering multiple writing projects. The legislature starts up tomorrow, and bulletins are sure to be in order, so please subscribe today.

Thank you kindly. See you later this week with a report on the abortion statistics vote in the New Hampshire House.

Top posts 2017, part 1: Marching for Life; Legislative Disappointment

Leaven for the Loaf’s most popular posts for 2017 are heavy on State House action, reflecting an eventful year. But wait – there’s more. Here’s a review of five of the ten most-viewed posts from 2017. Watch for the top five later this week.

New Hampshire March for Life Gallery

January’s March for Life in Concord was sponsored once again by New Hampshire Right to Life, with featured speaker Jennifer Lahl. People came from all over New Hampshire, peacefully resolved to defend the right to life.

Situational Personhood

On the same day that the House debated a fetal homicide bill, it also took up a bill from the Commerce committee related to trusts. Lo and behold, the trusts bill referred to “unborn person.” The trusts bill somehow got by without scrutiny from the same people who were afraid a fetal homicide law would confer personhood.

My thanks to Rep. Jeanine Notter, who came to the gallery the day of the debate to show me the Commerce bill. The irony of the term “unborn person” was not lost on her.

 

Fetal Homicide and Women’s Rights: Remember These Women

In their Concord testimony, opponents of fetal homicide legislation usually gave a pro forma gee-I’m-sorry nod to bereaved parents before going on to say that the legislation would interfere with women’s rights. I decided it was time to highlight the women whose children had died in utero in legal limbo: dead due to someone else’s actions, but not a victim under law.

 

Help Open St. Gianna’s Place

A dedicated group of volunteers is working to open another shelter for pregnant and parenting women in New Hampshire. This post is from last April, and the effort to find and fund a house is still underway.

Learn more, and join the effort, at stgiannasplace.org.

 

N.H. House Rejects Post-Viability Limit on Abortion

“All nine months: that’s how far into pregnancy abortion is legal in New Hampshire. Viable, non-viable, with or without ‘anomalies’: all irrelevant. What’s more, any abortion-minded woman in New Hampshire is entitled to a dead baby, not merely a terminated pregnancy.

“Rep. Keith Murphy and ten co-sponsors brought forward HB 578 in an effort to push back against that bit of barbarity. Murphy took Justice Blackmun at his word as expressed in Roe v. Wade: the state may assert an interest in the preborn child once that child is viable.

“The New Hampshire House had a chance to stand with Murphy. The House refused.”

There’s good news, though: Rep. Murphy has introduced another bill along the same lines, to be considered in the 2018 session.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post, featuring the story that far and away drew the most attention this year.

My June road trip: Dallas!

When Abby Johnson’s group And Then There Were None got together with the Alice Paul Group and put together something they called “Pro-Life Women’s Conference: Reclaiming the Narrative,” I knew I wanted to go. I’ve dropped most other blog-related travel for the year – goodbye, CPAC and Values Voters; try to get along without me – in order to make my way to Texas in June. I’ll be blogging from there, sharing as much good information with you as I can. Interested in attending? Check out their web site.

Photo/meme from prolifewomen.com.