With Every Woman, For Every Child: What Women Need Most During An Unplanned Pregnancy

Published

1 year ago

December 15, 2023

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Long ago, on a cold December night, a man and a pregnant woman arrived at a little town called Bethlehem seeking warmth and shelter. Unfortunately, the one inn that would be able to provide that warmth and shelter was full, leaving the woman no other place to give birth but in a lowly manger surrounded by the animals that fed there.

Now, each year on December 25th we gather with family and loved ones, pass gifts, and share in time honored traditions because of the miracle that occurred that night; the birth of a precious child. For this one day of the year, people hold their loved ones a little tighter, laugh a little louder, and love a little deeper all because of a woman who faced an unexpected pregnancy and the miraculous life that she brought into the world.

While I dont know how the story would have changed if there was room in the inn that cold night, I do know that thousands of pregnant women have had their lives beautifully altered thanks to the open doors of maternity homes across the country.

Homes such as the fittingly named Marys Shelter in Fredericksburg, Virginia and Bethlehem House in Omaha, Nebraska, exist to help women who are facing poverty, addiction, abuse and so much more while experiencing an unexpected pregnancy. As these homes help women to embrace life, they offer classes, clothing, materials, and support so that new moms feel confident to bring a child into the world and care for it. Additionally, they help women to further their education, recover from substance abuse, obtain a job, find housing, and become strong and successful in life and in motherhood.

Marys Shelter and Bethlehem House are not alone in their compassionate work, however, over 400 community-based maternity homes exist across the nation to empower and support women while providing them with an abundance of love and shelter. Women such as Rachel , Fran , Danielle and thousands of others were offered care and support when the rest of the world seemed to close a door to them.

Rachel, for instance, was seven months pregnant when she escaped years of abuse in order to save herself and her children. When the local domestic violence shelters were full, she turned to Marys Shelter and they provided her with a safe place for her family full of food, supplies, and love. She now has a successful job as a real estate agent, has started her own charcuterie business, has a beautiful family, and no longer lives in fear of what the next day will bring.

Thanks to the growing number of maternity homes and the strength of the pro-life moment, no woman will be turned away from warmth, hope and safety when facing an unexpected pregnancy.

As we continue in this post-Roe America, the goal of these homes and the pro-life movement is to ensure that each woman knows that she does not have to face an unexpected pregnancy on her own, and that resources and love are offered in abundance to her and her child.

That is why for the 51st annual National March for Life taking place next month, on January 19, we wanted to emphasize the life-saving work of these homes, while spreading the crucial message to women that they are not alone.

This years theme, With every woman, for every child highlights the need to love and support both baby and mom, through all nine months of pregnancy and in the many years after. We will gather again in our nations capital to not only be a voice for our smallest citizens, but for the women who so courageously carry them.

We will march for both woman and child, so every beating heart knows that the pro-life movement stands with them, and will always open our doors for them. The women who have no job, no home, no support and nowhere to turn are welcomed with open arms into these maternity homes. No matter their position in life, their background, or their story, their existence and the precious life inside of them will make the world a better place.

Just like the many stories of women helped today, the tale of that cold December night is one full of hope, perseverance, and joy. One womans unplanned pregnancy changed the world as we know it, and the beauty of new life now brings us peace and love each year.

For the brave women facing unplanned and unexpected pregnancies, you are loved, and you are never alone. No matter your journey or your destination, there will always, always be room for you at the inn.

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Jeanne Mancini is the president of March for Life.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Daily Wire.

Entertainment

A-ha frontman Morten Harket diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease

Published

13 mins ago

June 4, 2025

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A-ha frontman Morten Harket diagnosed with Parkinson's disease

A-ha frontman Morten Harket has revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The 65-year-old has been lead singer of the Norwegian band since it was founded in 1982 – and sung the track “Take On Me” which remains one of the most popular songs of the 1980s.

In a statement on the band’s website, and confirmed by record label Sony Music, Harket said he had undergone
several rounds of brain surgery and that he was managing the symptoms of the disease.

Parkinson’s causes deterioration in the brain’s nervous system, leading to tremors and other symptoms that can become
progressively worse over time.

The disease can be treated with surgery and medication, but there is no cure.

Harket said he underwent neurological procedures to have electrodes implanted inside his brain last year and that this had reduced the symptoms.

Known for the wide range of his voice, Harket said he did not know if he would be able to perform again.

“I’ve got no problem accepting the diagnosis,” he said, adding that it was difficult to balance medication and managing
side effects of the treatment.

“I’m trying the best I can to prevent my entire system from going into decline,” Harket said.

Formed in 1982 by Harket and his friends Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen, A-ha saw a global breakthrough in 1985 with their debut album “Hunting High and Low” featuring “Take On Me” and the hit “The Sun Always Shines on TV”.

Technology

Reddit sues AI startup Anthropic for breach of contract, ‘unfair competition’

Published

38 mins ago

June 4, 2025

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Reddit sues AI startup Anthropic for breach of contract, 'unfair competition'

Mateusz Slodkowski | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Reddit is suing artificial intelligence startup Anthropic for what it’s calling a breach of contract and for engaging in “unlawful and unfair business acts” by using the social media company’s platform and data without authority.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco on Wednesday, claims that Anthropic has been training its models on the personal data of Reddit users without obtaining their consent. Reddit alleges that it has been harmed by the unauthorized commercial use of its content.

Reddit opens the complaint by calling Anthropic a “late-blooming” AI company that “bills itself as the white knight of the AI industry.” Reddit follows by saying, “It is anything but.”

“For its part, despite what its marketing material says, Anthropic does not care about Reddit’s rules or users: it believes it is entitled to take whatever content it wants and use that content however it desires,
with impunity,” the filing said.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Since the generative AI boom began with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022, Reddit has been at the forefront of the conversation. Its 20-year-old site is filled with user-generated information about hundreds of thousands of topics and has been a main source of training for large AI models, including Anthropic’s Claude.

Reddit announced a partnership with OpenAI in May that will allow the company to train its AI models on Reddit content. The company has a similar agreement with Google.

In the lawsuit, Reddit said that “other giants in the AI space understand a respect Reddit’s rules,” which is why it has entered into formal partnerships with companies like OpenAI and Google. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is a former board member and major shareholder in Reddit, with a stake now valued at well over $1 billion.

Reddit has established rules dictating how its data can be used, which the company says in the filing “are clearly memorialized” in the company’s user agreement.

“While Reddit has always been of the mind that the community should be open to all humans looking for connection and community, it has never allowed its platform and the countless communities who find a home on it to be appropriated by commercial actors seeking to create billion-dollar enterprises and offering nothing in return to Reddit and its users,” the complaint says.

Reddit said the aim of the lawsuit is to seek damages and compel Anthropic to abide by its contractual and legal obligations.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

Environment

Open letter from auto dealer calls on Toyota to ‘do better’ on EVs

Published

57 mins ago

June 4, 2025

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Open letter from auto dealer calls on Toyota to 'do better' on EVs

(The following is an op-ed sent to us by Adam Lee, Chairman of Lee Auto Malls, in advance of Toyota’s June 10 annual shareholder meeting)

Toyota can do better

Like many Mainers, I grew up hiking, camping and playing in the Maine woods. Since my son was 4 years old we have hiked and camped up north. I don’t take it for granted that these woods will always be here or that the water and air will remain clean without all of us protecting it.

I have testified throughout the country for stronger emissions standards, chaired Maine’s energy efficiency board, and even won environmental awards. It hasn’t always made me the most popular car dealer in the room, but that’s how my dad raised me. He always taught me to stand up for what’s right.

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That is why for years I championed Toyota vehicles. In 2001, when Ford, GM, and Chrysler were building larger and larger SUVs, Toyota introduced the Prius, which got 50 miles per gallon. At the time, we were the third smallest Toyota dealer in the state. However, I was so excited about the Prius that I brought it to every clean car fair in Maine, and in time we became the state’s largest hybrid dealer.

However, hybrids alone are no longer enough to address the growing climate crisis. That’s why for the last twelve years I have driven an electric vehicle.

While other automakers have continued to evolve, Toyota has fallen to the back of the pack. In 2024, just 1.2% of the vehicles that Toyota sold in the U.S. were fully electric, far below the national average of 9.1%. EV sales have been growing steadily every year in the U.S., and experts expect that growth to continue.

Toyota has intentionally taken a different approach, becoming the leader in plug-in hybrids. This is great, and we sell hundreds of them. However, I was shocked to learn that while they develop the best hybrids in the world, they are also supporting climate deniers.

Over the last three electoral cycles, Toyota became the top auto industry financier of climate deniers, financing 207 of their congressional campaigns. In this last election, Toyota widened the gap with other automakers, donating to more than four times as many climate deniers as Ford and nearly twice as many as GM. After not donating to the Biden inauguration, it donated $1 million to the inauguration of President Trump, who calls climate change a “hoax” and is working to dismantle environmental regulations.

Toyota has been more aggressive than its peers in lobbying against climate action. It was ranked the third worst in the world–after only Chevron and Exxon–for its anti-climate lobbying, and for the last few years has ranked last amongst automakers. Just days after the election, Toyota wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed entitled “Trump Can Get EVs Back on Track,” calling on the new administration to dismantle policies that encourage automakers to make cleaner vehicles.

It also just publicly endorsed a dangerous bill from former car dealer Bernie Moreno. Moreno, who credits Toyota with organizing the coalition of car dealers that supported his Senate run, is trying to eviscerate environmental, climate, and fuel efficiency standards. That would cost drivers tens of billions of dollars and could kill tens of thousands of Americans every year. With weak standards, average fuel efficiency for cars and SUVs actually decreased between 1983 and 2000. In the year 2000, nearly 150,000 Americans died from air pollution. Then we started strengthening environmental, climate, and fuel efficiency standards.

Thanks in large part to the very standards that Toyota and Senator Moreno want to eliminate, by 2021 those deaths had been more than halved. From 40 years in the car business, I have learned that absent good policy, automakers will not make dramatic improvements in safety or fuel efficiency. Why would we try to reverse the progress we have made?

Don’t get me wrong: I love Toyota and the cars they produce. They are well-made, reliable, affordable cars and trucks. And they are a great company to work with.

But even with those we love, we must tell them when they’re falling short. I want Toyota to get back to being the green car company I have been so proud to support. Stop supporting climate deniers, give me more E.V.’s to sell. Toyota can do better.

–Adam Lee, Chairman, Lee Auto Malls, Maine’s largest car dealership chain

Electrek’s Take

While we don’t often run submissions sent to us in full, this one had an interesting angle given that auto dealers have long been one of the roadblocks slowing down fleet electrification, especially in the US.

While it’s true that dealers can often provide a worse EV shopping experience than direct purchases from EV-focused brands, that’s not true of all of them. Some of them get it, and Adam Lee seems to be one of them.

He’s written before encouraging EVs, and has testified in front of several states encouraging higher fuel economy and emissions standards.

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So we’d love to see more dealers like this, who understand more about the market and the world they live in, and recognize that you can’t sell cars on a dead planet. Instead of the typical nonsense we’ve heard about from the dealer lobby.

We continued the conversation briefly through email, and Lee brought up some points which we’ve pointed out many times before – that if the US wants to stay competitive globally, it needs to recognize the transition that is happening in the auto industry.

Lee said that other dealers and the car industry as a whole are “all shortsighted” in their resistance to EVs, which is something you may have heard before from yours truly. He mentioned that China is “wisely” focusing on EVs, and that “China will do what Japan and South Korea did, quietly and quickly come to dominate the industry.”

Which is a relevant warning to the company who was the main protagonist in that initial takeover.

Toyota helped push Japan to the top of the list of global auto exporting companies in the 1970s, where it remained in one of the top two spots for the last 5 decades, due to its better processes and technology and its embrace of car styles that better fit a global market that was worried about limited gasoline supply.

That dominance held until last year, where China is now on the top of that list… due to its better processes and technology and its embrace of car styles that better fit a global market that is worried about limited gasoline supply.

The resistance to change could harm not just Toyota, but Japan as a whole. The country is behind on electrification, and car exports are a huge part of its economy. One report says Japan could lose 14% GDP and millions of jobs by stalling on EVs.

And given Toyota’s annual shareholder meeting is coming up on June 10, this is the right time for shareholders to demand that Toyota protect their investment for the long term and take EVs more seriously. The company is not headed in the right direction right now, and needs change. Its investors, its dealers, its customers, its countrymen, and indeed everyone on the planet should be concerned about this.

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