Life Advocacy Briefing

Dangerous Nominee

THOUGH WE NORMALLY HIGHLIGHT ONLY NOMINEES whose background can be tied specifically to radical abortion policy, we call attention of our readers this week to a judicial nominee whose legal background is characterized by radical fanaticism even though abortion advocacy itself does not appear in her resume.

The Judiciary Committee is expected very soon to consider the nomination of Nancy Abudu to the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in the southeastern states.

Ms. Abudu is strategic litigation director for the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center, “a corrupt organization,” notes Family Research Council Action, “known for targeting its political opponents with its ‘hate group’ label and dangerous rhetoric. Choosing to work for such an organization shows a lack of judgment,” writes FRCA, “that makes her unsuitable for the federal bench.” [Capitol switchboard: 1-202/224-3121]

Senate Judiciary Members: Chairman Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein & Alex Padilla (CA), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Christopher Coons (DE), Jon Ossoff (GA), Mazie Hirono (HI), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Cory Booker (NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) and Patrick Leahy (VT).

Also Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA) and GOP Senators Tom Cotton (AR), John Kennedy (LA), Josh Hawley (MO), Ben Sasse (NE), Thom Tillis (NC), Lindsey Graham (SC), Marsha Blackburn (TN), John Cornyn & Ted Cruz (TX) and Mike Lee (UT).

Worse than Ambivalence

WHEN HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY XAVIER BECERRA APPEARED April 6 before the House committee examining his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2023, he was questioned by Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) about the deaths of five pre-born babies whose bodies had just been discovered in the District of Columbia and who, noted Mr. Cawthorn, quoted by Nancy Flanders for Live Action, “‘appear to have been viable human beings.’”

Noting that some of the babies appeared to have been victims of the federally banned partial-birth abortion tactic, Rep. Cawthorn asked the Secretary whether he was aware of that concern. “However, said [Mr.] Cawthorn in a tweet,” quoted by Ms. Flanders, “‘He ignored the question and said “partial-birth abortions” is a “politician-created term,” not used by “physicians.”’” It is also a term defined in federal criminal law.

Retorted Rep. Cawthorn, quoted by Live Action: “‘Mr. Secretary, it was not one; it was not two. It was five human viable babies that were left dead in DC a few weeks ago. … Quoting the [news] article, a neonatal specialist called these babies “premature people.”’ He added, ‘Secretary, your ambivalence about the definition of human life is destructive.’ … Secretary Becerra then said,” notes Ms. Flanders, “‘Congressman, I’m not ambivalent.’ To which Rep. Cawthorn replied, ‘Yes, sir. This lack of clarity is immoral and a monument to the erasure of truth in our time.’”

White Coats Still Using Babies for Experimentation

DESPITE YEARS OF SHOCK & DISGUST among Members of Congress over the abuse of unborn babies for the harvesting of their tissues, a new analysis, reported by Fox News writer Sam Dorman, shows “the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding $27 million in studies marked for use of fetal tissue. … The majority of the reported funding – 79.6% – comes from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID),” notes Mr. Dorman, “which is run by White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.”

To make matters worse, “NIH expects to spend $88 million on this type of research in FY 22,” reports Mr. Dorman. Said Christine McPherson, development manager of an outfit called the White Coat Waste Project, which uncovered the funding and the research methods, in a statement to Fox News Digital, “‘Anthony Fauci’s spending on grotesque and wasteful animal experiments is out of control.’” The group includes human fetal tissue experimentation in its definition of “grotesque and wasteful animal experiments.”

She added in the Fox News report: “‘A majority of Republican and Democrat taxpayers don’t want to be forced to pay university white coats tens of millions of dollars each year to implant fingers, scalps, eyes and other parts from aborted human fetuses into monkeys and mice for nightmarish experiments.’”

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) clearly agrees with her. In January of 2021, she filed HR-568, the Safe Research Act, which has 26 co-sponsors and has been gestating in the Health Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce since its introduction.

“‘My Safe Research Act would ensure that scientists can continue important research,’” said Rep. McClain in the Fox report, “‘so long as they’re not using fetal tissue from abortions.’”

Injustice on the Way

THE VIABILITY OF USING MICHIGAN’s 1931 ABORTION BAN to end baby-killing in the state is now in doubt, as pro-life and abortion lobby activists anticipate the US Supreme Court’s overturning of its wrongly decided Roe v. Wade edict this summer.

As is the case in several other states, Michigan’s law is still on the books but has been unenforceable in the Roe era. The abortion lobby is currently circulating a petition in Michigan to put abortion legalization on the November referendum ballot, but Planned Parenthood has taken a second course to circumvent any good to come from the high court. The abortion outfit has filed a legal challenge to the long-dormant Michigan state statute.

And who appears likeliest to be presiding over the Planned Parenthood challenge? The chief judge of Michigan’s Court of Claims, Judge Elizabeth Gleicher.

And who, exactly, is Judge Gleicher? She has filed a disclosure document, reports LifeSiteNews writer Matt Lamb, admitting that “in addition to her previous work as a volunteer attorney for Planned Parenthood, she still gives money to the abortion giant.

“‘Judge Gleicher asked me to notify all counsel of record that she makes yearly contributions to Planned Parenthood of Michigan,’” a court clerk said, quoted by Mr. Lamb. “‘And she represented Planned Parenthood as a volunteer attorney for the ACLU in 1996-1997.’”

So, is she recusing herself? The court clerk’s statement goes on, “‘While Judge Gleicher does not believe this warrants her recusal and is certain that she can sit on this case with requisite impartiality and objectivity, she believes that this letter of disclosure is appropriate.’”

Prominent George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, reports Mr. Lamb, “wrote on his website, ‘She should recuse herself, in my view.’ He also said the judge should appoint an outside counsel to defend the law,” writes Mr. Lamb, “as top state officials have already said they want it overturned. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has filed a separate challenge to the law,” notes the LifeSiteNews reporter, “and the attorney general has refused to defend it, falsely claiming that it will risk the lives of ‘millions of women.’”

Gov. Whitmer and Atty. Gen. Dana Nessel are both radical Democrats, and both are facing re-election in November.

Stateside

• FLORIDA GOV. RON DeSANTIS (R) IN MID-APRIL SIGNED a new law barring abortion at 15 weeks’ gestation or later, similar to the Mississippi law pending before the US Supreme Court in the Dobbs The new law has two exceptions, a “‘serious risk’ to the mother’s physical health,” reports Nancy Flanders for Live Action, or if the mother receives about her child a “‘fatal fetal abnormality’ diagnosis.”

• THE KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY HAS OVERRIDDEN the veto by Gov. Andy Beshear (D) of what Louisville Courier Journal writers Joe Sonka, Olivia Krauth and Deborah Yetter, called an “omnibus abortion bill,” HB-3. The reporters summarize the new law as having “so many new restrictions on abortion that it would effectively eliminate access to the procedure in Kentucky.” Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have vowed to file suit against its enforcement. The House vote was 76 to 21, and the Senate voted 31 to 6 to override the veto. The bill, according to the Journal, “bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, outlaws receiving abortion medication by mail, imposes new restrictions for girls under 18 seeking abortion and require[s] that fetal remains be disposed of by burial or cremation.” The new law took effect immediately after the override, and as a result, reports Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews, citing Operation Rescue’s Cheryl Sullenger as source, “Kentucky’s two remaining abortion facilities have suspended their abortion operations since April 14, rendering Kentucky effectively abortion-free for the time being.”

• LEGISLATION IS PENDING IN THE MISSOURI SENATE to defund Planned Parenthood. HB-2012 has already passed the House by a vote of 91 to 37. Reports Dave Andrusko for National Right to Life News, quoting Micaiah Bilger, “‘Along with defunding abortion groups of tax dollars, the legislation also would ban mail-order abortion drugs, ban the donation of aborted babies’ bodies and require medical care for babies who are born alive in botched abortions.’”

In the Courts

• IN AN OMINOUS DEVELOPMENT, the Idaho Supreme Court refused a request by the Catholic Church to accept an amicus – “friend of the court” – brief in support of the state’s new Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act, which is being challenged by Planned Parenthood and an Idaho “doctor” after “cruis[ing] through the legislature” and being signed by the governor, reports Dave Andrusko for National Right to Life News. “Bishop Peter Christensen, the bishop of the diocese which covers the entire state,” notes Mr. Andrusko, “wrote in a legal filing that the church helped get the abortion ban through the legislature. The diocese,” he added, “‘counseled and educated legislators regarding the same and provided support during the legislative process to proponents of the bill,’ [Bishop] Christensen wrote in the legal filing.”

• KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL DANIEL CAMERON (R) HAS FILED a petition with the US 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling striking down the state’s law barring dismemberment abortions. The attorney general had first had to secure a ruling from the US Supreme Court confirming his authority to file the motion for reconsideration; the high court endorsed Mr. Cameron’s authority by an 8-to-1 vote.  to defund Planned Parenthood. HB-2012 has already passed the House by a vote of 91 to 37. Reports Dave Andrusko for National Right to Life News, quoting Micaiah Bilger, “‘Along with defunding abortion groups of tax dollars, the legislation also would ban mail-order abortion drugs, ban the donation of aborted babies’ bodies and require medical care for babies who are born alive in botched abortions.’”

Another Assault

April 21, 2022, BreakPoint commentary by John Stonestreet & Kasey Leander

             Christian legal experts are bracing for the Biden Administration to issue reversal of a 2019 “conscience rule,” which protected faith-based groups from being forced to violate their beliefs. To quote one Christian attorney, reversing the protection would create “an existential threat to religious-based employers,” who would be forced to provide services, such as abortifacients or gender assignment surgery, or face fines, lawsuits and legal challenges that would drive them out of business.

             If they are to respond in a helpful way, Christians first need to remember the basics of religious liberty: It’s for all individuals, it’s the cornerstone of a free and democratic society, and it’s the first freedom from which every other freedom springs.

             Respecting the right to conscience provides a setting in which both people and society can thrive. Remove it, and there’s nothing to stop some future administration or regime* from imposing its worldview on millions of people.

             Religious liberty might be the direct result of a Judeo-Christian worldview, but it’s the birthright of every American – and it’s worth fighting for.

*Life Advocacy Briefing editor’s note: or the current one.

Can Americans Any Longer Tolerate Late-term Abortion?

April 7, 2022, BreakPoint commentary by John Stonestreet & Heather Peterson

             Last week, DC police collected the bodies of five babies that were reportedly aborted late-term. A pro-life activist claims the bodies were given to her by a “whistleblower” from an abortion clinic. The clinic conducts abortions until week 27, but experts contacted by Live Action News believe that one of the babies looks to be between 28 and 32 weeks.

             I’ve seen the photos. They are absolutely horrific. The older baby is simply indistinguishable from a newborn.

             With the Supreme Court soon to announce a decision in the Dobbs case, the abortion industry continues to dig in its heels. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. is about the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that limits abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The fact that such a law would be fought — especially at the highest legal levels — is evidence that America’s abortion laws are not where people, science and the rest of the world are when it comes to abortion.

             Of course, Christians have additional, sacred reasons for opposing abortion at any age in any circumstance. Even so, despite the alarmism presented in the media and from abortion advocates about any abortion restriction, Americans don’t want late-term abortions. A Wall Street Journal poll published last week found that a majority, although slim by five percent, were against abortion after 15 weeks. Another poll conducted last year by Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that 65% of Americans don’t want abortion after the first trimester, ending after week 12 or 13. Additional research shows that millennials lean more pro-life than Gen-X.

             A major reason public opinion continues to trend toward more abortion restrictions instead of less is due to what we have learned from both natural and social science. Abortion is not the elimination of unformed masses but the killing of babies who, at 15 weeks, are developing eyebrows and eyelashes and can thumb suck and yawn. A survey conducted by pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony List found that when people know the science, they are more uncomfortable with abortions past 15 weeks.

             For example, 55% of survey takers informed that at 15 weeks a pre-born baby feels pain were “more likely” in support of a 15-week limit. And 53% indicated “more likely” support for a 15-week limit when informed that “by 15 weeks an unborn child has a beating heart, can move around in the womb, can close his or her fingers, can start to make sucking motions and hiccup, and senses stimulation from outside the womb.” Also, 52% responded in “more likely” favor of a 15-week restriction when they learned that “abortion carries significant physical and psychological risks to the mother, and these risks increase with late abortions.”

             This science appears to be convincing much of the rest of the world to restrict abortions closer to the first trimester. Even Chief Justice John Roberts, in his exchange with abortion industry counsel during discussion on the Dobbs case, noted that, except for China and North Korea, the US seems to be out of step globally regarding the “viability standard.” Viability outside the womb is often thought now to begin at 24 weeks, and some high-tech NICUs have made it as potentially low as 22 weeks of gestation. Sharing a standard with two of the nations known least for respecting life is not commendable. In fact, a report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute finds that the US is one of only seven nations that allow voluntary abortion past 20 weeks.

             As Patrick Kelly of the Knights of Columbus wrote in the Wall Street Journal a few months ago, up to 4,000 pregnancy resource centers are available for expectant mothers in the United States. Despite the criticisms of the abortion industry, Charlotte Lozier Institute, in its research of 2,700 centers, found that 25% of their paid staff were medically trained. The Institute has shared that “consistently high client satisfaction rates reported to pregnancy centers reflect that women, men and youth who visit centers feel respected, valued and well cared for.” When we advocate for Life, we are not advocating for just the life of the baby but also for the life of the parents. They and the baby are both made in the image of God.

Senate Voting Record

Cloture motion to bring Nomination of Judge Jackson to a vote – Adopted – April 7, 2022 – 53-47 (Democrats in italics; “Independent” marked “I”)

Voting “no”/pro-Life: Shelby & Tuberville/AL, Sullivan/AK, Boozman & Cotton/AR, Rubio & Scott/FL, Crapo & Risch/ID, Braun & Young/IN, Ernst & Grassley/IA, Marshall & Moran/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Cassidy & Kennedy/LA, Hyde-Smith & Wicker/MS, Blunt & Hawley/MO, Daines/MT, Fischer & Sasse/NE, Burr & Tillis/NC, Cramer & Hoeven/ND, Portman/OH, Inhofe & Lankford/OK, Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Rounds & Thune/SD, Blackburn & Hagerty/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Lee/UT, Capito/WV, Johnson/WI, Barrasso & Lummis/WY.

Voting “yes”/anti-Life: Murkowski/AK, Kelly & Sinema/AZ, Feinstein & Padilla/CA, Bennet & Hickenlooper/CO, Blumenthal & Murphy/CT, Carper & Coons/DE, Ossoff & Warnock/GA, Hirono & Schatz/HI, Duckworth & Durbin/IL, Collins & King(I)/ME, Cardin & VanHollen/MD, Markey & Warren/MA, Peters & Stabenow/MI, Klobuchar & Smith/MN, Tester/MT, Cortez-Masto & Rosen/NV, Hassan & Shaheen/NH, Booker & Menendez/NJ, Heinrich & Lujan/NM, Gillibrand & Schumer/NY, Brown/OH, Merkley & Wyden/OR, Casey/PA, Reed & Whitehouse/RI, Romney/UT, Leahy & Sanders/VT, Kaine & Warner/VA, Cantwell & Murray/WA, Manchin/WV, Baldwin/WI.