Life Advocacy Briefing

Cut Out UNFPA $

KNOW ANYONE YOU THINK WOULD LIKE TO STRIP THE U.N. POPULATION FUND out of the US federal budget? Forward this Life Advocacy Briefing to them – and take action yourself.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has posted the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) as one of three prospective budget targets on his “YouCut” Internet website for this week. The website offers taxpayers the opportunity to help the House Majority shape its legislative agenda when it comes to proposing elimination of various federal programs.

Those visiting www.majorityleader.gov/YouCut and clicking the “vote” tab at the third of the choices (UN Population Fund) will be voting for defunding one of the most obnoxious of the UN’s many unworthy programs. (The UN Population Fund is always a controversial agency in Congressional budget deliberations because of its abetting of Red China’s “one-child” depopulation pogrom, among many other outrages.)

YouCut is a program initiated by the House GOP Leadership at the beginning of this Congress to give taxpayers an opportunity to submit ideas for programs to axe. Each week, three controversial programs are listed, and Internet users are given the opportunity to vote among the three. The “winner” becomes a priority for cutting by the House Majority, which gets to schedule such votes.

UNFPA will be listed on the website this week only, so readers are urged to go there now to cast a vote to eliminate US “contributions” to the UN Population Fund.

Speak Up Now on Goodwin Liu

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID (D-NV) IS DEVELOPING A PATTERN of giving very little notice of his intent to bring forward individual judicial nominees for confirmation votes in the Senate. As a consequence, publications like Life Advocacy Briefing cannot be assured of the opportunity to alert our readers to weigh in on appointees whose terms on the bench may last decades.

Without knowing when his confirmation may pop up, therefore, we ask our readers now and often to contact their two home-state Senators and urge them to vote against nominee Goodwin Liu, among this President’s least qualified and most controversial judicial picks. And we ask our readers specifically to request that their Senators vote “no” on “cloture,” the motion to bring the Liu nomination forward for a vote. Voting “no” on confirmation is not enough; defeating cloture is our best bet in blocking this radical Berkeley professor from taking a seat on the appellate court in San Francisco.

Mr. Liu’s nomination has twice before been rebuffed by inaction in the Senate, but the current President has a pattern of reinstating failed nominations, and the current Senate has a pattern of yielding to the White House on such controversial appointees.

Among the indications of Mr. Liu’s questionable temperament, frequently cited by his opponents, was his mocking assessment of Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in his testimony at the confirmation hearings for the eminent jurist.

Mr. Liu was more sober but just as radical in his 2005 Bloomberg commentary calling attention to the pro-life record of now-Chief Justice John Roberts, whose legal career, Mr. Liu claimed, was “studded with activities unfriendly to civil rights, abortion rights and the environment.” (Readers may examine the entire Liu-on-Roberts commentary via Bloomberg’s Internet archives here)

His lack of judicial experience is a glaring marker. Notes GOP attorney David Norcross, posting a commentary on TheDailyCaller.com, “[Mr.] Liu worked as a junior associate at a law firm for 21 months and as a contract attorney for several weeks working on various business matters. [Prof.] Liu’s only experience arguing cases is one single case,” reports Mr. Norcross, “a pro bono federal inmate’s appeal. Some third-year law school students,” he writes, “have roughly as much practical experience. … [The nominee] is not even moderately qualified,” charges Mr. Norcross, adding, “It is fairly certain that if any Senator, the American Bar Assn. rating group or their families had a matter before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, they would not hire [Mr.] Liu to represent them. [Prof.] Liu is not qualified to lead – never mind to adjudicate – a case before the Court of Appeals. He simply does not have the requisite practical experience,” writes Mr. Norcross, “to even bring a case before the Court of Appeals.”

Daniels Signs Pro-Life Reforms

INDIANA GOV. MITCH DANIELS (R) SIGNED LEGISLATION last week to bar Medicaid reimbursement from Planned Parenthood, expecting to cost the abortion behemoth as much as $3 million annually.

The new law was immediately attacked by a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality – filed by guess-whom – but US District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt refused to issue the customary emergency hold on the law while considering whether to issue a preliminary injunction; she indicated to the Indianapolis Star she expected to rule on the injunction by July 1.

Within the same new law, Indiana will now require abortionists to tell customers that life begins at fertilization and to inform them that unborn boys and girls can feel pain at or before 20 gestational weeks. It incorporates provisions of Nebraska’s new Fetal Pain Capable Abortion Prohibition Act in a bid to thwart the announced plans of notorious late-term abortionist Leroy Carhart to open shop somewhere in the Hoosier state.

The new law “also excludes abortion coverage from any state health insurance exchange set up by the new federal healthcare plan,” reports the National Catholic Register. Further, reports NCR, “It requires abortionists or a designee to register with a local hospital (to expedite any emergency admissions caused by botched abortions.”

The Medicaid provision does not single out Planned Parenthood by name but disqualifies abortion-committing providers from participating in the Medicaid plan for any purpose. As the chief purveyor of abortions in Indiana and the US, Planned Parenthood stands out as the biggest loser from the reform.

Nullifying ObamaCare

NORTH DAKOTA HAS REJECTED OBAMACARE with a law that threatens future action to block enforcement within the state. The new law, signed by Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R), passed the State Senate 32 to 15 and the House 69 to 24.

The one-page [law],” reports Peter J. Smith for LifeSiteNews.com, “declares that the healthcare law (Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act – PPACA) championed by Pres. Barack Obama (D) and criticized by pro-life groups for the dangers it poses to life, ‘likely [is] not authorized by the US Constitution and may violate its true meaning and intent as given by the founders and ratifiers.’”

The principal objection of North Dakota lawmakers appears to be the individual mandate, an Obamacare provision requiring every American to purchase health insurance.

“North Dakota’s new law also states,” reports Mr. Smith, “that the legislature will consider enacting actual measures to prevent federal enforcement of PPACA in North Dakota.” The legislation specifically provides, reports LifeSiteNews, “that no provision of PPACA or federal law ‘may interfere with an individual’s choice of a medical or insurance provider except as otherwise provided by the laws of this state.’”

March for Life Speeches

Congressional speeches delivered at the Jan. 24, 2011, March for Life, transcribed by Life Advocacy Briefing from C-SPAN.org videocoverage; more to follow in future editions.

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ): Good morning. I am Scott Garrett from the great state of New Jersey, my wife Mary Ellen and my two daughters – we are a pro-life family. “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” We know from Hebrews that it says that it’s with persistence and perseverance that we join in the race that is set before us. And so I say, All of you out there who may be cold and who may be weary, I encourage you that we have right and we have history on our side. And now as we begin this new year, now as we begin this new Congress, be encouraged as well that we have a new freshman class in Congress who will join us in this march, who will join us in this race and will get us over the finish line to Life. God bless.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX): I’m Louie Gohmert from the state of common sense, some call Texas. Allow me to borrow from Abraham Lincoln: Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray that this mighty scourge of abortion may speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that America suffers until all the wealth piled by the abortionists’ thirty-eight years of killing innocent babies shall be lost, as was said three thousand years ago, so it still must be said: “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” With malice for none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds from abortions, to care for those who shall have undergone an abortion, and for all those suffering from those losses, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting end to the abortion deaths among ourselves and our communities. May God heal our land and bless America. Thank you very much.

House Voting Records

HRes-237 – Rule for Consideration of HR-3 – No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act –May 4, 2011 – Passed 243-177 (Democrats in italics)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: AL/Aderholt, Bachus, Bonner, Brooks, Roby, Rogers; AK/Young; AZ/Flake, Franks, Gosar, Quayle, Schweikert; AR/Crawford, Griffin, Ross, Womack; CA/ Bono-Mack, Calvert, Campbell, Denham, Dreier, Gallegly, Herger, Hunter, Issa, Lewis, Lungren, McCarthy, McClintock, McKeon, Gary Miller, Nunes, Rohrabacher, Royce; CO/Coffman, Gardner, Lamborn, Tipton; FL/Adams, Buchanan, Crenshaw, Mack, Mica, Miller, Nugent, Posey, Rivera, Rooney, Ros-Lehtinen, Ross, Southerland, Stearns, Webster, West, Young; GA/Broun, Gingrey, Graves, Kingston, Price, Austin Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall; ID/Labrador, Simpson; IL/Biggert, Costello, Dold, Hultgren, Johnson, Kinzinger, Lipinski, Manzullo, Roskam, Schilling, Schock, Shimkus, Walsh; IN/Bucshon, Burton, Donnelly, Pence, Rokita, Stutzman, Young; IA/King, Latham; KS/Huelskamp, Jenkins, Pompeo, Yoder; KY/Davis, Guthrie, Rogers, Whitfield; LA/Alexander, Boustany, Cassidy, Fleming, Landry, Scalise; MD/Bartlett, Harris; MI/Amash, Benishek, Camp, Huizenga, Kildee, McCotter, Miller, Rogers, Upton, Walberg; MN/Bachmann, Cravaack, Kline, Paulsen, Peterson; MS/Harper, Palazzo; MO/ Graves, Hartzler, Long, Luetkemeyer; MT/Rehberg; NE/Fortenberry, Smith, Terry; NV/Heck, Heller; NH/Bass, Guinta; NJ/Frelinghuysen, Garrett, Lance, LoBiondo, Runyan, Smith; NM/Pearce; NY/Buerkle, Gibson, Grimm, Hanna, Hayworth, King, Reed; NC/Coble, Ellmers, Foxx, Jones, McHenry, McIntyre, Myrick, Shuler; ND/Berg; OH/Austria, Chabot, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, LaTourette, Latta, Renacci, Schmidt, Stivers, Tiberi, Turner; OK/Boren, Cole, Lankford, Lucas, Sullivan; OR/Walden; PA/Altmire, Barletta, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Holden, Kelly, Marino, Meehan, Murphy, Pitts, Platts, Shuster; SC/Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Scott, Wilson; SD/Noem; TN/Black, Blackburn, DesJarlais, Duncan, Fincher, Fleischmann, Roe; TX/Barton, Brady, Burgess, Canseco, Carter, Conaway, Culberson, Farenthold, Flores, Gohmert, Granger, Hall, Hensarling, Marchant, McCaul, Neugebauer, Olson, Paul, Poe, Sessions, Smith, Thornberry; UT/Bishop, Chaffetz; VA/Cantor, Forbes, Goodlatte, Griffith, Hurt, Rigell, Wittman, Wolf; WA/Hastings, Herrera-Beutler, McMorris-Rodgers, Reichert; WV/Capito, McKinley, Rahall; WI/Duffy, Petri, Ribble, Ryan, Sensenbrenner.

Voting “no” / anti-Life: AL/Sewell; AZ/Grijalva, Pastor; CA/Baca, Bass, Becerra, Berman, Capps,Cardoza, Chu, Davis, Eshoo, Farr, Filner, Garamendi, Honda, Lee, Lofgren, Matsui, McNerney,George Miller, Napolitano, Pelosi, Richardson, Roybal-Allard, Linda Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Stark, Thompson, Waters, Waxman, Woolsey; CO/DeGette, Perlmutter,Polis; CT/Courtney, DeLauro, Himes, Larson, Murphy; DE/Carney; FL/Brown, Castor, Deutch, Hastings, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson; GA/Barrow, Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, David Scott; HI/Hanabusa, Hirono; IL/Davis, Gutierrez, Jackson, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky; IN/Carson, Visclosky; IA/Boswell, Braley, Loebsack; KY/Chandler, Yarmuth; LA/Richmond; ME/Michaud; MD/Cummings, Edwards, Hoyer, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes, VanHollen; MA/Capuano, Frank, Keating, Lynch, Markey, McGovern, Neal, Olver, Tierney, Tsongas; MI/Clarke, Conyers, Dingell, Levin, Peters; MN/Ellison, McCollum, Walz; MS/Thompson; MO/Carnahan, Clay, Cleaver; NV/Berkley; NJ/Andrews, Holt, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Rothman, Sires; NM/Heinrich, Lujan; NY/Ackerman, Bishop, Clarke, Crowley, Engel, Higgins, Hinchey, Israel, Lowey, Maloney, McCarthy, Meeks, Nadler, Owens, Rangel, Serrano, Slaughter, Tonko, Towns, Velazquez, Weiner; NC/Butterfield, Kissell, Miller, Price, Watt; OH/Fudge, Kaptur, Kucinich, Ryan, Sutton;OR/Blumenauer, DeFazio, Schrader, Wu; PA/Brady, Critz, Doyle, Fattah, Schwartz; RI/Cicilline,Langevin; SC/Clyburn; TN/Cohen, Cooper; TX/Cuellar, Doggett, Gonzalez, Al Green, Gene Green, Hinojosa, Jackson-Lee, E.B. Johnson, Reyes; UT/Matheson; VT/Welch; VA/Connolly, Moran, Scott;WA/Dicks, Inslee, Larsen, McDermott, Smith; WI/Baldwin, Kind, Moore.

Not voting: AZ/Giffords; CA/Bilbray, Costa; FL/Bilirakis, Diaz-Balart; ME/Pingree; MS/Nunnelee; MO/Akin, Emerson; OH/Boehner; PA/Thompson; TX/Sam Johnson; WY/Lummis.

HR-3 – Motion to Recommit (Block Consideration) – No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act –May 4, 2011 – Failed 192-235 (Democrats in italics)

Voting “no” / pro-Life: AL/Aderholt, Bachus, Bonner, Brooks, Roby, Rogers; AK/Young; AZ/Flake, Franks, Gosar, Quayle, Schweikert; AR/Crawford, Griffin, Womack; CA/ Bono-Mack, Calvert, Campbell, Denham, Dreier, Gallegly, Herger, Hunter, Issa, Lewis, Lungren, McCarthy, McClintock, McKeon, Gary Miller, Nunes, Rohrabacher, Royce; CO/Coffman, Gardner, Lamborn, Tipton; FL/Adams, Buchanan, Crenshaw, Diaz-Balart, Mack, Mica, Miller, Nugent, Posey, Rivera, Rooney, Ros-Lehtinen, Ross, Southerland, Stearns, Webster, West, Young; GA/Broun, Gingrey, Graves, Kingston, Price, Austin Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall; ID/Labrador, Simpson; IL/Biggert, Dold, Hultgren, Johnson, Kinzinger, Manzullo, Roskam, Schilling, Schock, Shimkus, Walsh; IN/Bucshon, Burton, Pence, Rokita, Stutzman, Young; IA/King, Latham; KS/Huelskamp, Jenkins, Pompeo, Yoder; KY/Davis, Guthrie, Rogers, Whitfield; LA/Alexander, Boustany, Cassidy, Fleming, Landry, Scalise; MD/Bartlett, Harris; MI/Amash, Benishek, Camp, Huizenga, McCotter, Miller, Rogers, Upton, Walberg; MN/Bachmann, Cravaack, Kline, Paulsen; MS/Harper, MS/Nunnelee, Palazzo; MO/Akin,  Graves, Hartzler, Long, Luetkemeyer; MT/Rehberg; NE/Fortenberry, Smith, Terry; NV/Heck, Heller; NH/Bass, Guinta; NJ/Frelinghuysen, Garrett, Lance, LoBiondo, Runyan, Smith; NM/Pearce; NY/Buerkle, Gibson, Grimm, Hanna, Hayworth, King, Reed; NC/Coble, Ellmers, Foxx, McHenry, Myrick; ND/Berg; OH/Austria, Chabot, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, LaTourette, Latta, Renacci, Schmidt, Stivers, Tiberi, Turner; Cole, Lankford, Lucas, Sullivan; OR/Walden; PA/Barletta, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Kelly, Marino, Meehan, Murphy, Pitts, Platts, Shuster, Thompson; SC/Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Scott, Wilson; SD/Noem; TN/Black, Blackburn, DesJarlais, Duncan, Fincher, Fleischmann, Roe; TX/Barton, Brady, Burgess, Canseco, Carter, Conaway, Culberson, Farenthold, Flores, Gohmert, Granger, Hall, Hensarling, Marchant, McCaul, Neugebauer, Olson, Paul, Poe, Sessions, Smith, Thornberry; UT/Bishop, Chaffetz; VA/Cantor, Forbes, Goodlatte, Griffith, Hurt, Rigell, Wittman, Wolf; WA/Hastings, Herrera-Beutler, McMorris-Rodgers, Reichert; WV/Capito, McKinley; WI/Duffy, Petri, Ribble, Ryan, Sensenbrenner; WY/Lummis.

Voting “yes” / anti-Life: AL/Sewell; AZ/Grijalva, Pastor; AR/Ross; CA/Baca, Bass, Becerra, Berman, Capps, Cardoza, Chu, Costa, Davis, Eshoo, Farr, Filner, Garamendi, Honda, Lee, Lofgren, Matsui, McNerney, George Miller, Napolitano, Pelosi, Richardson, Roybal-Allard, Linda Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Stark, Thompson, Waters, Waxman, Woolsey; CO/DeGette, Perlmutter, Polis; CT/Courtney, DeLauro, Himes, Larson, Murphy; DE/Carney; FL/Brown, Castor, Deutch, Hastings, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson; GA/Barrow, Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, David Scott; HI/Hanabusa, Hirono; IL/Costello, Davis, Gutierrez, Jackson, Lipinski, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky; IN/Carson, Donnelly, Visclosky; IA/Boswell, Braley, Loebsack; KY/Chandler, Yarmuth; LA/Richmond; ME/Michaud, Pingree; MD/Cummings, Edwards, Hoyer, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes, VanHollen; MA/Capuano, Frank, Keating, Lynch, Markey, McGovern, Neal, Olver, Tierney, Tsongas; MI/Clarke, Conyers, Dingell, Kildee, Levin, Peters; MN/Ellison, McCollum, Peterson, Walz; MS/Thompson; MO/Carnahan, Clay, Cleaver; NV/Berkley; NJ/Andrews, Holt, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Rothman, Sires; NM/Heinrich, Lujan; NY/Ackerman, Bishop, Clarke, Crowley, Engel, Higgins, Hinchey, Israel, Lowey, Maloney, McCarthy, Meeks, Nadler, Owens, Rangel, Serrano, Slaughter, Tonko, Towns, Velazquez, Weiner; NC/Butterfield, Jones, Kissell, McIntyre, Miller, Price, Shuler, Watt; OH/Fudge, Kaptur, Kucinich, Ryan, Sutton; OK/Boren; OR/Blumenauer, DeFazio, Schrader, Wu; PA/Altmire, Brady, Critz, Doyle, Fattah, Holden, Schwartz; RI/Cicilline, Langevin; SC/Clyburn; TN/Cohen, Cooper; TX/Cuellar, Doggett, Gonzalez, Al Green, Gene Green, Hinojosa, Jackson-Lee, E.B. Johnson, Reyes; UT/Matheson; VT/Welch; VA/Connolly, Moran, Scott; WA/Dicks, Inslee, Larsen, McDermott, Smith; WV/Rahall; WI/Baldwin, Kind, Moore.

Not voting: AZ/Giffords; CA/Bilbray; FL/Bilirakis; MO/Emerson; OH/Boehner; TX/Sam Johnson.