Welcome to The Vine, where every week I strive to bring you updates from around the pro-life community to help you keep up with the ever constant battle to save lives. If you aren’t plugged-in, it is my sincere hope that The Vine will allow you to get familiar with those on the front lines and find your place among them.

What a week it has become for the pro-life community! Late last week, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the buffer zone law in Massachusetts, which prevented pro-life volunteers from coming within 35 feet of abortion clinics in the state. With so many other states having similar laws, the hope is that the ruling will create a domino effect that will allow women in all states to be provided the information Planned Parenthood tries so desperately to keep from them. In a note of irony, Business Insider posted that the ruling may force the court to deal with their own buffer zone.

Additionally, today brings the news that the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, who previously filed a lawsuit against the Health and Human Services mandate that would have forced companies to pay for abortifacients for their employees. According to the Christian Post, privately owned businesses “can refuse to provide certain drugs that may abort a fetus on the basis of religious objection.” The left is, of course, reacting violently to the news, split between irritation at the interruption of their ultimate goals and those who have no idea what is actually going on. No word (as of this writing) from the president, but Governor Bobby Jindal has an idea of what Obama may be up to:

.@BarackObama is now googling “Can an Executive Order override Supreme Court?” #HobbyLobby

— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) June 30, 2014

Aside from winning Twitter for the day, Jindal has been blazing the trail in Louisiana signing numerous measures to protect the unborn. Following the passage of two pro-life bills signed into law by Jindal earlier this month, he has now signed another law that will protect the unborn children of mothers who have been declared “brain dead.” This week’s Branch for Life goes to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has proven that states do not need permission from the federal government to protect the lives of all of their citizens.

In Kentucky, pro-life activists from around the country gathered this weekend for the 44th Annual National Right to Life Convention, which featured an awesome line-up of speakers from Dr. Alveda King to abortion survivor Melissa Ohden. TownHall Contributor Cortney O’Brien recapped her experience at the convention listing 10 truths she learned about Planned Parenthood while there, including something called “sexy Tuesdays,” which sounds as bad as the name suggests.

Tackling the commonly used argument by Planned Parenthood and others of “bodily autonomy,” Calvin Freiburger recently wrote a must-read post at Live Action News on what is called the “violin argument.” Per Freiburger:

You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with an unconscious violinist. A famous unconscious violinist. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and the Society of Music Lovers has canvassed all the available medical records and found that you alone have the right blood type to help. They have therefore kidnapped you, and last night the violinist’s circulatory system was plugged into yours, so that your kidneys can be used to extract poisons from his blood as well as your own. The director of the hospital now tells you, “Look, we’re sorry the Society of Music Lovers did this to you–we would never have permitted it if we had known. But still, they did it, and the violinist is now plugged into you. To unplug you would be to kill him. But never mind, it’s only for nine months.”

While pro-lifers can easily explain many reasons why the violin argument falls short, Freiburger adds another perspective that both sides can relate to: the issue of justice.

This weekend, as we celebrate our independence and freedom on the 4th of July, I hope you will remember with me the justice that still remains to be seen for the unborn. We have much to celebrate, especially in light of the recent rulings by the Supreme Court, but there is more work ahead. Priests for Life is offering a great prayer to help us not only be thankful for our freedom, but to pray for the youngest among us who are not yet free.

Until next week, I pray blessings for you and for all committed to life in The Vine. Please feel free to email or tweet me with any stories you’d like to see covered or any organizations you’d like to see as the Branch For Life!