Life Advocacy Briefing

Senate Votes on ‘Life’ Amendments

BRINGING LIFE-RELATED PROPOSALS FORWARD for a vote in the US Senate is a challenge under the management of Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), but opportunities sometimes arise in the Senate’s consideration of appropriations and budget measures.

Two such bills, the Defense Appropriation bill and the Senate’s rare Budget proposal, brought just such an opportunity last month, and pro-life Senators took advantage of the debates.

First came a pro-life amendment by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, offered March 13 to the Defense Appropriation. It was the first-term Republican’s first attempt to block all funding for implementation of ObamaCare, and it fell short on a party-line vote of 45 to 52. He tried again on the Senate Budget bill, attempting on March 22 to create a reserve fund for repeal of ObamaCare and “to encourage patient-centered reforms to improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs, promoting economic growth;” this amendment also failed on a party-line vote, this time 45 to 54. We begin at the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing, with these two amendments, to publish the voting records from the amendment marathon.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) attempted to attach the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act to the Senate Budget bill. CIANA, as it is frequently called, has been filed repeatedly in previous Congresses and has routinely passed the House under the leadership of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) but is usually not even called for a vote in the Senate. Sen. Rubio did succeed March 22 in securing a recorded vote on the proposal, which failed 48 to 51.

First-term Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) attempted March 22 to ensure conscience rights for medical providers under ObamaCare’s women’s healthcare provisions; her amendment was rejected 44 to 55.

Sen. Cruz came back March 23 with another amendment to the Senate Budget bill, this one to block any taxpayer funding to the United Nations so long as any member nation (read: Red China) forces involuntary abortions on its citizens or residents. Senators should be asked to explain why such a compassionate, just amendment would fall by a 38-to-61 vote. Apparently Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) agrees that there is justice and mercy in his proposal; notes Family Research Council president Tony Perkins in his March 25 Washington Update, an exasperated Sen. Landrieu (who faces re-election in 2014) issued a “stiff rebuke to Sen. Cruz … for putting her in such a tough position.” Of course, she could have voted the will of her constituents but voted instead with her party, in favor of the butchers of Beijing.

Senate Adds Contraception Mandate to Budget Bill

IN ADDITION TO THE PRO-LIFE PROPOSALS brought before the Senate during the Budget bill amendment marathon, one Senator, Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), offered an amendment to put the controversial contraceptive/abortifacient mandate HHS regulation into statutory law.

The Shaheen proposal was adopted 56 to 43. We will publish that roll call in a future edition of Life Advocacy Briefing, and we thank those of our readers who responded to our Call to Action, issued the morning of the vote, by calling their home-state Senators to seek a “no” vote.

Extraordinary Justice?

IN A MOST UNUSUAL MOVE MARCH 29th, THE 10th CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS announced its plans to take up Hobby Lobby’s suit against ObamaCare’s contraceptive insurance coverage mandate as a nine-judge panel, rather than forcing the Christian business to endure a two-step process opening round with only three judges. Becket Fund for Religious Liberty general counsel Kyle Duncan explained, “Full court review is reserved only for the most serious legal questions.” Hobby Lobby’s owners filed the suit to defend their First Amendment right to religious freedom. If the craft retailer fails to receive conscience protections, the ObamaCare mandate regulation would require a crippling penalty of $100 per day for each employee in addition to an annual tax surcharge of $2,000 per employee for violations. Hobby Lobby has one of America’s largest retail labor forces.

In a less auspicious ruling, US District Judge Audrey Fleissig, presiding in eastern Missouri, has ruled against the first state law, passed over gubernatorial veto in September 2012, designed to protect citizens of the Show Me state against the ObamaCare contraception insurance mandate. The judge cited a clause of the US Constitution giving federal law precedence over contradictory state laws.

Gotcha!

IT’s AMAZING JUST HOW OUT OF STEP PLANNED PARENTHOOD SPOKESMEN can be when testifying in a state capitol.

Alisa Lapolt Snow, lobbyist for the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, shocked both lawmakers in Tallahassee and the public at large on March 30 with her literally incredible testimony against a bill to require medical personnel to treat and seek to save a live baby who survives an abortion. Her crass comments came in response to skillful questioning by various Florida lawmakers in a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Civil Justice, reported by Ben Johnson for LifeSiteNews.com.

“‘It’s just really hard for me to even ask you this question, because I’m almost in disbelief,’” said committee member Rep. Jim Boyd of Bradenton, quoted by Mr. Johnson. “‘If a baby is born on a table as a result of a botched abortion, what would Planned Parenthood want to have happen to that child that is struggling for life?’” Replied Ms. Snow, “‘We believe that any decision that’s made should be left up to the woman, her family and the physician.’” Yes, she said it with a straight face.

Since such testimony coming from a supposedly well-respected “health provider” was so shocking, members of the committee continued to revisit the stunning statement. “‘What happens in a situation where a baby is alive, breathing on a table, moving?’” asked State Rep. Daniel Davis, a Jacksonville-area lawmaker quoted by Mr. Johnson. “‘What do your physicians do at that point?’ [Ms.] Snow punted,” notes Mr. Johnson. “‘I do not have that information,’ she said. ‘I am not a physician. I am not an abortion provider, so I do not have that information.’” This said by the spokesman for the state branch of the nation’s chief abortion purveyor.

“After a third representative pressed,” notes Mr. Johnson, “[Ms.] Snow replied, ‘That decision should be between the patient and the healthcare provider.’” Truth began to dawn even on the pathetic witness when a committee member, Miami suburban Rep. Jose Oliva replied, quoted by LifeSiteNews, “‘I think that at that point, the patient would be the child struggling on a table; wouldn’t you agree?’ Only then,” writes Mr. Johnson, “did [Ms.] Snow seem to understand the weakness of her argument. ‘That’s a very good question,’ she said with a nervous smile. ‘I really don’t know how to answer that.’”

Nicely, the incredible exchange was telecast, unlike the incredible record of then-State Sen. Barack Obama, who thrice opposed Illinois’ Born-Alive Infant Protection Act. His reprehensible record is well documented by pro-life blogger and speaker Jill Stanek (www.jillstanek.com), who was behind introduction of the legislation after having, as a labor/delivery nurse at a south suburban Chicago hospital, held a born-alive aborted baby struggling to survive after being discarded by medical personnel.

Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus, responding to the uproar over the Florida hearing, issued a statement urging, “The President, the Senate Majority Leader, the House Democratic Leader and the Chair[man] of the Democratic National Committee (in whose home state this hearing occurred) … should now all be held to account for [their] outspoken support” for Planned Parenthood funding during the 2012 campaign. “If the media won’t [hold them accountable],” he said, “then voters must ask the pressing questions: Do these Democrats also believe a newborn has no rights? Do they also endorse infanticide?” Good questions!

In publishing a story about the Florida hearing, The Weekly Standard magazine posted a video of the exchange, which readers may view for themselves.

In his own April 1 Washington Update report on the shocking exchange in the Florida subcommittee, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins reports, “State Rep. Mike Clelland, a Democrat, was astonished. ‘I’ve been pro-choice my whole life, and I can’t think of a more sensible bill in this regard,’” the Orlando-area lawmaker said, quoted by Mr. Perkins. “‘Does Planned Parenthood have an objection,’ he asked [the witness], ‘to a doctor being obligated to provide advanced life support in an abortion clinic setting to a child born alive? I mean, I guess you do, or you wouldn’t be here, right?’”

Mr. Perkins quotes also a Tampa-area GOP representative, Ross Spano, “who said,” writes Mr. Perkins, “Planned Parenthood’s policy ‘makes me sick to my stomach. … If we can’t take a stand to protect the most vulnerable,’” he said, “‘God forbid who we are and where we’re headed.’” Amen.

Kudos to Washington State Senator!

WITH ENCOURAGEMENT FROM U.S. REP. CATHY McMORRIS-RODGERS (R-WA), a lady state senator in Washington State has stopped cold a bill which would have forced health plans in the state to cover abortions.

The chairman of the State Senate Committee on Health Care, GOP Sen. Randi Becker, reports Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins in his April 3 Washington Update, “told a packed hearing room that she refused to schedule a vote on the ‘Reproductive Parity Act,’ effectively killing the measure.”  Mrs. Becker, incidentally, is a former surgical center administrator.

“Despite the heat she’s taking from the Left,” notes Mr. Perkins, Sen. Becker “won’t let her state become the first to mandate abortion coverage in insurance plans. A local pro-life activist testified,” reports Mr. Perkins: “‘You all have the Second Amendment right to bear arms, to own a gun. But does that mean I have to buy it for you?’

“Echoing [Rep.] McMorris-Rodgers, [Sen.] Becker said the bill ‘does not satisfy [long-standing] federal [provisions] on conscience rights, the protection for people who have religious objections to abortion to opt out of insurance plans.’” We join Mr. Perkins in proclaiming, “Good for [Sen.] Becker!”

The Beat Goes On

THE PRO-LIFE SPRING CONTINUES IN THE STATES with the signing of three new North Dakota laws, including a ban on the abortion of infants whose heartbeats can be detected, which doctors now say happens as early as six weeks. The state’s Republican governor Jack Dalrymple has also signed a ban on abortions based on genetic abnormalities and a requirement that whatever abortionists are left to commit these heinous acts must have admitting privileges at local hospitals.

These courageous signatures are costing the governor dearly, as he is now receiving death threats, according to Stand Up for Women ND, a Facebook group that was formed to oppose the now-signed legislation. The administrators of the page are now urging a cooler approach among its online participants, saying, “We want stoic, respectful solidarity or we will not be taken seriously,” according to Jennifer Mason of Personhood USA. But trying to calm the furies comes a little late on the heels of all the ballyhoo of a Planned Parenthood/ACLU lawsuit threat, trying to deter passage. Of course, pro-life progress in the courts cannot be made unless lawsuits are filed against pro-life measures!

In Alabama, Governor Robert Bentley is widely expected to sign a clinic regulation bill that passed both houses of the GOP-led legislature by wide margins, mostly along party lines, according to the Associated Press (AP). Under the new law, abortionists are required to maintain admitting privileges to hospitals in the same city where their clinics are situated. The abortuaries themselves have to meet stricter safety standards, as well.

The same law requires additional protections for underage mothers, requiring abortion mills to ask any girl under 16 for the age and name of the baby’s father. Though there’s no requirement for the mother to answer, if she does respond with information indicating the father is more than two years her senior, staff must report the possibility of a sex crime to local authorities. For mothers younger than age 14, the girl’s name must be reported to the Alabama Department of Human Resources for review. According to the AP, the Alabama Center for Health Statistics reports 9,523 abortions for 2011, with 171 involving mothers under the age of 16.

Please Keep Praying!

THANKS TO OUR READERS WHO HAVE BEEN PRAYING for the full recovery of our editor and Life Advocacy’s president from injuries sustained in a late-February auto/pedestrian accident. We ask that you continue raising this need to our Lord.

Senate Voting Records: Cruz I & II

Cruz Amendment 30 to Amendment 26 to HR 933 (Defense Appropriation Bill) to prohibit the use of funds to carry out ObamaCare – March 13, 2013 – Rejected 45-52 (Democrats in italics; “Independents” marked “I”)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Sessions & Shelby/AL, Murkowski/AK, Flake & McCain/AZ, Boozman/AR, Rubio/FL, Chambliss & Isakson/GA, Crapo & Risch/ID, Kirk/IL, Coats/IN, Grassley/IA, Moran & Roberts/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Vitter/LA, Collins/ME, Cochran & Wicker/MS, Blunt/MO, Fischer & Johanns/NE, Heller/NV, Ayotte/NH, Burr/NC, Hoeven/ND/ Portman/OH, Coburn & Inhofe/OK, Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Thune/SD, Alexander & Corker/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Hatch & Lee/UT, Johnson/WI, Barrasso & Enzi/WY

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Begich/AK, Pryor/AR, Boxer & Feinstein/CA, Bennet & Udall/CO, Blumenthal & Murphy/CT, Carper & Coons/DE, Nelson/FL, Hirono & Schatz/HI, Durbin/IL, Donnelly/IN, Harkin/IA, Landrieu/LA, King (I)/ME, Cardin & Mikulski/MD, Cowan & Warren/MA, Levin & Stabenow/MI, Franken & Klobuchar/MN, McCaskill/MO, Baucus & Tester/MT, Reid/NV, Shaheen/NH, Menendez/NJ, Heinrich & Udall/NM, Gillibrand & Schumer/NY, Hagan/NC, Heitkamp/ND, Brown/OH, Merkley & Wyden/OR,  Casey/PA, Reed/RI, Johnson/SD, Leahy & Sanders (I)/VT, Kaine & Warner/VA, Cantwell & Murray/WA, Rockefeller/WV, Baldwin/WI

Not Voting: Lautenberg/NJ, Whitehouse/RI, Manchin/WV

Cruz amendment 202 to Senate Budget bill to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to provide for the repeal of ObamaCare and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 and to encourage patient-centered reforms to improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs, promoting economic growth – March 22, 2013 – Rejected 45-54 (Democrats in italics; “Independents” marked “I”)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Sessions & Shelby/AL, Murkowski/AK, Flake & McCain/AZ, Boozman/AR, Rubio/FL, Chambliss & Isakson/GA, Crapo & Risch/ID, Kirk/IL, Coats/IN, Grassley/IA, Moran & Roberts/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Vitter/LA, Collins/ME, Cochran & Wicker/MS, Blunt/MO, Fischer & Johanns/NE, Heller/NV, Ayotte/NH, Burr/NC, Hoeven/ND/ Portman/OH, Coburn & Inhofe/OK, Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Thune/SD, Alexander & Corker/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Hatch & Lee/UT, Johnson/WI, Barrasso & Enzi/WY

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Begich/AK, Pryor/AR, Boxer & Feinstein/CA, Bennet & Udall/CO, Blumenthal & Murphy/CT, Carper & Coons/DE, Nelson/FL, Hirono & Schatz/HI, Durbin/IL, Donnelly/IN, Harkin/IA, Landrieu/LA, King (I)/ME, Cardin & Mikulski/MD, Cowan & Warren/MA, Levin & Stabenow/MI, Franken & Klobuchar/MN, McCaskill/MO, Baucus & Tester/MT, Reid/NV, Shaheen/NH, Menendez/NJ, Heinrich & Udall/NM, Gillibrand & Schumer/NY, Hagan/NC, Heitkamp/ND, Brown/OH, Merkley & Wyden/OR,  Casey/PA, Reed & Whitehouse/RI, Johnson/SD, Leahy & Sanders (I)/VT, Kaine & Warner/VA, Cantwell & Murray/WA, Manchin & Rockefeller/WV, Baldwin/WI

Not Voting: Lautenberg/NJ