Life Advocacy Briefing

Rule Change?

SENATE DEMOCRATS ARE LAYING THE GROUNDWORK to abolish the time-honored rule permitting unlimited debate, termed “filibuster.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called down his partisan opponents at last Thursday’s Rules Committee Hearing on Examining the Filibuster, declaring, “The most disingenuous thing I have heard is that the Senate’s rules must be changed so ‘the democratic process’ will work. I submit,” he said, “that the effort to change the rules is not about democracy. It is not about doing what a majority of the American people want. It is about power.

“If it were truly about doing what a majority of Americans wanted,” he charged, “the Democratic Majority in the Senate would not have muscled through a health spending bill that a majority of Americans opposed – and opposed by wide margins. When that bill finally passed the Senate,” he noted, “39% of Americans favored it, while 59% opposed it, according to CNN.”

Senate Democrats have lately had difficulty mustering the votes to thwart filibusters and advance the White House’s radical legislation and nominees to a vote. To evade the extended debate of a filibuster requires 60 votes. The election of Republican Scott Brown to a US Senate seat from Massachusetts has set Democrats – including their two “Independent” allies, Senators Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont – back to 59 votes.

Elections Have Consequences

TWO WASHINGTON POST WRITERS DISCOVERED last week that “[Pres.] Obama wants Supreme Court nominee who supports abortion rights.” Duh.

For those who might have doubted this stunning news, we’ll quote a bit of the story by Anne E. Kornblut and Robert Barnes.

“[Mr.] Obama was careful,” the two write, “to say that he would impose no litmust test on potential nominees. But he made it clear during a meeting with Senate leaders that he would take into account a candidate’s views on the constitutionality of abortion. Asked whether he would consider someone who opposes abortion rights,” reports the Washington Post, “[Pres.] Obama replied: ‘I am somebody who believes that women should have the ability to make often very difficult decisions about their own bodies and issues of reproduction.’

“‘I will say the same thing that every President has said since this issue came up, which is I don’t have litmus tests around any of these issues,’ he told reporters in the Oval Office,” reported by Ms. Kornblut and Mr. Barnes. “‘But I will say that I want somebody who is going to be interpreting our Constitution in a way that takes into account individual rights, and that includes women’s rights.’ He added,” they write, “‘Part of what our core constitutional values promote is the notion that individuals are protected in their privacy and their bodily integrity, and women are not exempted from that.’”

Ready, Aim …

FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL ACTION P.A.C. HAS ANNOUNCED A TARGET LIST of 20 US Representatives the group will seek to oust. The FRC political action arm is seeking to build a war chest of $500,000, according to Catholic News Agency (CNA), “to ‘replace’ self-described pro-life Congressmen and -women who voted in support of healthcare reform.”

Said Connie Mackey, FRC Action PAC president, quoted by CNA, “‘The thousands of families that we represent are more energized than ever to replace these so-called “pro-life” Democrats who voted for a healthcare bill that for the first time in three decades uses taxpayer funds for abortion on demand.’”

Though FRC Action PAC has dubbed its campaign “20 in ’10” and has listed 20 “pro-life Democrats” as targets, two of the targets did not actually vote for the legislation in the final roll call. But FRC Action PAC insists these two, Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID) and Rep. Glenn Nye (D-VA) need to go anyway if a pro-life majority is to be elected to roll back the Leftish initiatives of the Obama Regime.

The others on the target list are Arizona Representatives Ann Kirkpatrick and Gabriel Giffords, Rep. Betsy Markey (CO), Rep. Ron Klein (FL), Rep. Baron Hill (IN), Rep. Alice Titus (NV), Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH), Rep. Earl Pomeroy (ND), Rep. John Spratt (SC), Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (TX), Rep. Tom Perriello (VA) and Rep. Allan Mollohan (WV). Also, from Ohio, Representatives John Boccieri, Steve Driehaus and Mary Jo Kilroy, and from Pennsylvania, Representatives Chris Carney, Kathy Dahlkemper and Paul Kanjorski.

Busted!

LILA ROSE’s LIVE ACTION FILMS RELEASED FOOTAGE last week of Kentucky’s sole abortion shop, EMW Women’s Surgical Center, reports LifeSiteNews.com, “ignoring the sexual abuse of a child and giving misleading abortion counseling.”

The video shows Miss Rose representing herself as a 14-year-old who believes she has been impregnated by “her 31-year-old ‘boyfriend,’” reports LifeSite. The EMW counselor “determines,” reports LifeSite, “that [Miss] Rose is ‘14-to-15-weeks pregnant.’” (Miss Rose is not expecting a baby and knows it!) She tells the counselor “she wants to keep the situation secret from her parents. Though [Miss] Rose gave no indication that she would face abusive parents,” notes LifeSite, “the clinic directs [her] to call Louisville attorney Mickey Adams so that she can obtain a judicial bypass around Kentucky’s parental consent law and avoid parental knowledge of the abortion or sexually abusive relationship.”

Sexual intercourse between a 14-year-old and a 31-year-old is classified by Kentucky as third-degree rape, reports LifeSite, “and would reasonably be considered sexual abuse of a child, which must be reported to law enforcement immediately. The clinic failed,” reports LifeSite, “to ask the questions necessary to file a child sexual abuse report and did not communicate to [Miss] Rose about the illegal or dangerous nature of her [claimed] sexual relationship. Instead,” reports LifeSite, the counselor “assures the girl by telling her that ‘We have minors in here all the time’ and that the lawyer ‘doesn’t think it’s gonna be a big deal getting you a judicial bypass.’”

The California-based video operation, reports LifeSite, “has previously released videos of statutory rape cover-up at Planned Parenthood abortion clinics” in Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana; Memphis, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; LosAngeles, California, Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Alabama’s health department placed the Birmingham abortuary on probation after being prompted by Live Action’s video expose’ to investigate; state inspectors found nine violations, reports LifeSite.

Tennessee Pioneers New Law for Life

TENNESSEE’s DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR SURPRISED MANY OBSERVERS last week and signed groundbreaking legislation requiring abortionists to post a non-coercion policy in their facilities, hospitals or offices. The new law, passed overwhelmingly in the GOP-controlled House and Senate, levies fines against facilities which do not comply.

Tennessee’s legislature has also advanced to the governor legislation banning abortion as a service offered by in-state health exchanges mandated by ObamaCare. Once the governor affixes his signature to this measure, Tennessee will become the first state to adopt an opt-out from the new federal mandate; similar bills are pending in Missouri and Louisiana, according to National Right to Life Committee. Americans United for Life (AUL) cites also such legislation in Georgia, Oklahoma and Virginia and offers model legislation for states to protect their taxpayers by opting out.

“‘We must take every action possible to protect Tennessee from being a part of a plan that allows for funding abortions,’” said GOP State Sen. Diane Black, quoted by NRLC. “‘We have worked for years to ensure that taxpayer money is not used for abortion services in Tennessee,’” she added, “‘and we must fight back against this overreach of federal power.’”

Inching Toward Getting It Right

WE WERE ENCOURAGED LAST WEEK to note a debate in the South Carolina legislature over state subsidies of abortionists.

Though disappointed to see that the State Senate’s Finance Committee pulled back from a reform being proposed by the House, we were cheered to see that lawmakers in South Carolina’s lower house had actually passed a budget proposal “end[ing] state health insurance plan coverage for abortions stemming from rape or incest,” as Associated Press (AP) reports.

Backers of the status quo pointed to the pernicious loopholes which Pres. Bill Clinton (D) poked into the federal Hyde Amendment, and they ultimately ruled the day, but not without what appears to have been a spirited debate.

“Republican [State] Sen. Kevin Bryant, of Anderson, voted against the change” in the House reform proposal, notes AP, “and said allowing abortions for rape or incest would put blood on every taxpayer’s hands.” We concur with the good Senator and further note: There is no political constituency for this seemingly settled but unacceptable compromise. We are thankful for the re-opening of the debate on this horrible injustice and look forward to seeing more lawmakers who step forward to protect Life without discriminating against some of the most vulnerable little boys and girls.

Virginia also took a step forward, but only a baby step. Commonwealth taxpayers will still be handed the bill for the prenatal killing of babies conceived during sex crimes or babies suffering from “fetal abnormality” but will be relieved of the mandate which has required them to pay for abortions excused on the basis of the mother’s “health.” The trimming of the mandate was sought by GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Stateside in General

STATE LEGISLATORS HAVE BEEN AT WORK dealing with issues of Life in their various capitols. Family Research Council recently published on its FRCBlog Internet site a listing of topics and the number of bills it is following on each through FRC’s State Legislation Tracker.

Here, in summary form, is FRC’s listing of bills relating to Life:

• Abortion – Fetal Pain – 5
• Abortion – Parental Notification – 38
• Abortion – Ultrasound Bills – 60
• Abortion Alternatives – Pregnancy Care Centers – 18
• Adoption – By Traditional Family – 551
• Adoption – By Unmarried or Same-Sex Couples – 44
• Conscience Regulations – 4
• Cord Blood – 62
• Health Care – State’s Response to ObamaCare – 176
• Human Cloning – 149
• Human Eggs – 8
• Life Issues – 23
• Reproductive Health – 9
• Stem Cell Research – Adult – 17
• Stem Cell Research – Embryonic – 37

Not all these bills are of a pro-Life bent, and their fates vary. But we found the range and numbers of interest and invite our readers to look further, if desired, via http://www.frc.org/tracker.

Noticing that the list does not include such popular state legislation as abortuary regulation and informed consent, we’re certain the above list is not exhaustive, but it’s a good place to start.

Youth Envy

April 21, 2010, report by Kathleen Gilbert for LifeSiteNews.com, under the title “NARAL’s President Admits: Pro-Aborts Aging, Pro-Lifers Young and Zealous”

The pro-life movement in America is growing in leaps and bounds, attracting young, zealous women to defend the unborn in droves – a fact that even the president of NARAL has now admitted.

NARAL’s Nancy Keenan told Newsweek last week that she considers herself a member of the “postmenopausal militia” – a phrase that captures the situation of pro-abortion leaders who are aging across the board, including the leadership of Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women. Newsweek’s Sarah Kliff notes that “these leaders wil retire in a decade or so.”

Keenan also remarked on the enormity of this year’s March for Life in Washington, DC, and, according to Newsweek, is troubled that such passion has faded among the youth on her side of the movement.

“I just thought, my gosh, they are so young,” Keenan said about stumbling on this year’s March for Life in Washington. “There are so many of them, and they are so young.”

While March for Life estimates it drew 400,000 pro-lifers to Washington for this year’s March, Planned Parenthood’s “Stop Stupak” rally in December only drew about 1,300 attendees.

In addition, Newsweek revealed that NARAL’s own research on American youth shows more reason for Keenan to worry: a survey conducted by the group found that, while 51% of pro-life voters under 30 considered abortion a “very important” voting issue, only 26% of abortion supporters in the same demographic felt similarly.

“Keenan is right to be worried,” commented Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, to LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) this week.

“As more evidence proves the humanity of unborn babies and pain that abortion causes mothers and babies, more people will be pro-life,” Wright said, adding that “pro-abortionists motivate by anger; pro-lifers are motivated by love” – a fact that appeals “especially to a generation that is desperate for the bonds of family.”

Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America told LSN that the fears expressed by the pro-abortion giant are playing out visibly on college campuses, where she says pro-life groups are routinely more vigorous and longer lasting than pro-abortion groups.

“That’s exactly what we see every day on college campuses,” said Hawkins. “We’ll have pro-choice groups that spring up in reaction to the pro-life groups that are started on campus, and those groups, they last maybe a year. The only purpose they serve is to be reactionary towards our pro-life students.”

Hawkins noted that groups such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL and the Feminist Majority Network struggle to maintain campus chapters. “They all are incredibly well-funded, have a lot more money than Students for Life of America, yet none of them can [keep] active groups,” she said.

“More and more, this generation treats abortion as a fundamental human rights violation,” said Hawkins.

“Katie Walker, Communications Director of the American Life League, has already made several appearances on television news shows as a spokesperson for the pro-life cause – and she only recently turned 24.

“Nancy Keenan and her aging ‘postmenopausal militia’ should be shaking in their combat boots,” Walker told LSN. “Poll after poll has confirmed what the pro-life movement has known for a long time – young people are pro-life; young women especially are pro-life.

“Despite the pro-abortion movement’s stranglehold on the entertainment media, our educational institutions, our laws – they’re selling an unsustainable bill of goods. They’re asking us to deny our womanhood and our feminity in exchange for a selfish me-first philosophy that has led too many of our friends, too many of our mothers to pain and suffering in the aftermath of their abortions, their divorces, their joyless corporate climb.”

Young women, said Walker, “aren’t looking at the Nancy Keenans of the world and thinking, ‘I want to be just like her some day.’ They’re looking at the joy that comes with selflessly embracing life and human rights and dignity,” she said.

“As Alice VonHildebrand says, every woman – whether single or married – is called to be a mother in some way. Most young women I know, myself included, are looking at the joy on the faces of the young mothers in our lives and thinking, ‘I want to be just like that some day.’”

Permission granted to quote with attribution. Reproduction rights granted only by express authorization.