Life Advocacy Briefing

Catching Up

WE WILL BE TRAVELING NEXT WEEK, but instead of suspending publication, we expect to issue a catching-up edition which will likely present a few news items we could not fit into this week’s edition and one or more excellent commentaries, as well as House voting records from a variety of procedural motions related chiefly to the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

It is our practice to publish not only final passage roll calls but also the records of votes on motions leading up to final passage. We find that, in some cases, Members change their voting patterns between procedural motions and final passage votes. At Life Advocacy, we believe all votes on Life-related questions are important in order for our readers to gain a full grasp on the voting behavior of these Representatives of the people. Procedural roll call compilations are included in our annual index of Life-related votes which we publish throughout the year.

We hope our readers will find this catch-up edition useful, and we are deeply grateful for the support of our subscribers and for help from Life Advocacy’s support team, without whom we would not be here for our readers.

Opportunity in Crisis

WITH THURSDAY’s STUNNING ANNOUNCEMENT by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) that he would not be a candidate for Speaker when Ohio Rep. John Boehner leaves both his leadership post and his Congressional seat at the close of this month, House conservatives have a new opportunity to achieve policy commitments in choosing new leadership for the Majority conference and the House.

We urge our readers to pray for wisdom for each Member in the face of this critical decision.

Slipping

THOUGH SENATE DEMOCRATS HAVE SUCCEEDED, so far, in keeping taxpayers’ dollars flowing to the baby-parts trafficking Planned Parenthood of America, recent and continuing exposure of the truth about the abortion cartel’s chief purveyor is taking a toll among the public at large.

An established public opinion polling operation at Quinnipiac University, notes Reagan domestic policy chief Gary Bauer in his Oct. 5 End of Day Report, “has measured Planned Parenthood’s popularity over the past three years. In 2012,” writes Mr. Bauer, “55% of voters had a favorable opinion of Planned Parenthood, while just 22% viewed it unfavorably – a 33-point gap. Today,” he writes, “that gap has narrowed to just five points: Only 43% of voters have a favorable view of Planned Parenthood, while 38% view it unfavorably.” And this dramatic shift has developed despite mainstream media’s cooperation with PP’s campaign to squelch news about the documentation of their involvement in baby body parts trafficking.

“Clearly we are winning the public debate,” comments the conservative leader, “and that is an important first step toward defunding the nation’s largest abortion business.” Indeed, the continued roll-out of revelations should have a deepening impact on Planned Parenthood’s effectiveness in political contests for Congress, state legislative seats and a variety of offices throughout America. And it could begin to have an impact on Planned Parenthood’s precious bottom line.

New Video Raises More Alarms

A NEW PLANNED PARENTHOOD UNDERCO

he Center for Medical Progress, this one showing an abortionist with Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas laughing, reports Ben Johnson for LifeSiteNews.com, “as she discusses her hope of removing the intact ‘calvarium’ – or skull – of an unborn baby while preserving both lobes of the brain.”

Austin-based abortionist Anna Dermish “also describes,” writes Mr. Johnson, “how she first dismembers babies up to 20 weeks gestation, including two 20-week babies she said she [had] aborted the week before” the videotaped interview. She “told undercover investigators,” reports LifeSiteNews, “she had never been able to remove the calvarium of an aborted child ‘intact,’ but she hopes to. ‘Maybe next time,’ the investigator said. ‘I know, right?’ [Ms.] Dermish replied. ‘Well, this’ll give me something to strive for.’”

Ms. Dermish also discusses her methods of securing the death of children who are five months along in their gestation, explaining that she sometimes needs to turn the baby into a breech position. “She then slides the baby down the birth canal until she can snip the spinal cord. … Converting a child to the breech position is the first step,” writes Mr. Johnson, “of the partial-birth abortion procedure. This procedure has been illegal since Pres. [George W.] Bush signed legislation in 2003 making it a federal felony punishable by two years in prison and a fine of $250,000.” That groundbreaking criminalizing of an abortion procedure was later upheld by the US Supreme Court.

“Trafficking in human body parts for ‘valuable consideration,’” notes LifeSiteNews, “is also a federal felony carrying a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. ‘That would be enough,’” said Center for Medical Progress chief David Daleiden, quoted by Mr. Johnson, “‘to construct a criminal case against Planned Parenthood.’” And would still be ripe under a new Attorney General following the 2016 election.

Judge Lets Congress Get National Abortion Federation Probe Tapes

A FEDERAL JUDGE IN CALIFORNIA HAS LIFTED ONE CORNER of his standing order blocking the Center for Medical Progress from releasing certain of the videos produced by CMP.

Though District Judge William Orrick III in July granted to the National Abortion Federation (NAF) a temporary restraining order to block CMP from releasing footage of the NAF annual meetings, the same judge, reports Ben Johnson for LifeSiteNews.com, ruled last Tuesday “that CMP may release all videos and transcripts to the Congressional committee that had sought them.

“‘I will not countenance a game of hide-the-ball with respect to these documents, video footage and communications,’” he concluded, reports Mr. Johnson, “‘that interferes directly with these proceedings.’”

At the same time, the judge ordered CMP to furnish “the same materials to NAF” before responding to the House committee’s subpoena. NAF has been seeking the materials in hope, reports Mr. Johnson, “of prosecuting [Mr.] Daleiden and other investigators for infractions they allegedly committed during the course of their 30-month-long investigation. But they hoped,” adds Mr. Johnson, “no one else would see a single frame.”

That is why NAF had fought the release of the videos and transcripts to the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, claiming, reports Mr. Johnson, that the committee’s subpoena “lacked legal force without full House authorization.”

But in a four-page order, reports LifeSiteNews, “Judge Orrick ruled that he could not stand in the way of [Mr.] Daleiden ‘voluntarily’ responding to a federal investigation. ‘In our Constitutional system,’” the judge wrote, according to Mr. Johnson, “‘there are three equal branches of government, and courts should refrain from creating needless friction with a coordinate branch of government.’”

Out of Step

THOUGH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE LONG SUPPORTED the 39-year-standing Hyde Amendment barring Medicaid funding of most abortions, and though most public officials – if asked – at worst demur from calling for its repeal, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards outwardly advocated abandoning “Hyde” in her recent testimony before the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, reports Dustin Siggins for LifeSiteNews.com.

Apparently, a half-billion dollars each year in taxpayer funding for supposedly abortion-unrelated “services” is not enough to feed the abortion behemoth.

“In her opening statement to the … committee,” reports Mr. Siggins, “Cecile Richards said that ‘while the federal policy, in my opinion, discriminates against low-income women, no federal funds pay for abortion services at PP or anywhere else except in the very limited circumstances allowed by law.’” Taxpayer funds, of course, in paying for PP’s other expenses do help keep the lights on and the rent paid and thus keep abortion “services” flowing freely, especially in America’s more financially distressed neighborhoods.

Calling All Collegians!

STUDENTS FOR LIFE OF AMERICA HAS LAUNCHED a collegiate bus tour, “targeting Planned Parenthood’s own clientele, college students,” SFLA reports in a news item posted on their Internet website at www.studentsforlife.org.

Staged along with Family Research Council’s political arm, FRC Action, the tour calls on college students to join their “Don’t Fund Planned Parenthood” education and action campaign.

First stop: Clemson University in South Carolina, where students were greeted by a “massive pink bus,” according to SFLA, as well as SFLA’s Planned Parenthood Project display of “897 pink crosses in the ground, symbolizing every abortion done by Planned Parenthood daily.”

The SFLA tour has visited some 150 college campuses since 2013 and has taken on new urgency and flavor since this summer’s release of videos documenting Planned Parenthood’s abhorrent practices, including adjusting their abortion procedures to enhance business in their trafficking of aborted baby body parts.

During the fall 2015 tour, which began last week, the report indicated, “Local elected officials and representatives from SFLA and FRC Action encouraged students to watch the Center for Medical Progress videos and to demand the total defunding of Planned Parenthood.”

Further stops last week: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Virgina, the University of Pittsburgh and Ohio State.

A Bit More Justice for Gosnell Victim

NOTORIOUS ABORTIONIST/MURDERER KERMIT GOSNELL has been ordered to pay $3.9 million in both compensatory and punitive damages to the family of the woman whose murder contributed to the West Philadelphia butcher’s imprisonment. The order came from Common Pleas Judge Jacqueline Allen and was reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Lawyers for the convict expressed doubt the family would ever benefit from the award, as the now-former owner/operator of Philadelphia’s notorious “house of horrors” failed to carry insurance either for himself or his shop. They can, however, take some comfort from the justice of his life sentence.

Senate Voting Record

Continuing Resolution funding the federal government through Dec. 11, 2015, including grants and contracts for Planned Parenthood – Sept. 30, 2015 – Passed – 78-20 (Democrats in italics)

Voting “No” / pro-Life: Sessions & Shelby/AL; Boozman & Cotton/AR; Crapo & Risch/ID; Coats/IN; Moran/KS; Paul/KY; Vitter/LA; Blunt/MO; Sasse/NE; Heller/NE; Burr/NC; Inhofe & Lankford/OK; Toomey/PA; Scott/NC; Cruz/TX; Lee/UT.

Voting “Yes” / anti-Life: Murkowski & Sullivan/AK; Flake & McCain/AZ; Boxer & Feinstein/CA; Bennet & Gardner/CO; Blumenthal & Murphy/CT; Carper & Coons/DE; Nelson/FL; Isakson & Perdue/GA; Hirono & Schatz/HI; Durbin & Kirk/IL; Donnelly/IN; Ernst & Grassley/IA; Roberts/KS; McConnell/KY; Cassidy/LA; Collins & King (I)/ME; Cardin & Mikulski/MD; Markey & Warren/MA; Peters & Stabenow/MI; Franken & Klobuchar/MN; Cochran & Wicker/MS; McCaskill/MO; Daines & Tester/MT; Fischer/NE; Reid/NV; Ayotte & Shaheen/NH; Booker & Menendez/NJ; Heinrich & Udall/NM; Gillibrand & Schumer/NY; Tillis/NC; Heitkamp & Hoeven/ND; Brown & Portman/OH; Merkley & Wyden/OR; Casey/PA; Reed & Whitehouse/RI; Rounds & Thune/SD; Alexander & Corker/TN; Cornyn/TX; Hatch/UT; Leahy & Sanders(I)/VT; Kaine & Warner/VA; Cantwell & Murray/WA; Capito & Manchin/WV; Baldwin & Johnson/WI; Barrasso & Enzi/WY.

Not Voting: Rubio/FL; Graham/SC.

House Voting Record

House Concurrent Resolution 79 – Seeking to Amend Continuing Resolution to Defund Planned Parenthood — Sept. 30, 2015 – Adopted – 241-185            (Democrats in italics)

Voting “yes” / pro-life: Aderholt, Brooks, Byrne, Palmer, Roby, Rogers/AL; Young/AK; Franks, Gosar, McSally, Salmon, Schweikert/AZ; Crawford, Hill, Westerman, Womack/AR; Calvert, Cook, Denham, Hunter, Issa, Knight, LaMalfa, McCarthy, McClintock, Nunes, Rohrabacher, Royce, Valadao, Walters/CA; Buck, Coffman, Lamborn, Tipton/CO; Bilirakis, Buchanan, Clawson, Crenshaw, Curbelo, DeSantis, Diaz-Balart, Jolly, Mica, Miller, Nugent, Posey, Rooney, Ros-Lehtinen, Ross, Webster, Westmoreland, Yoho/FL; Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, T. Price, A. Scott, Woodall/GA; Labrador, Simpson/ID; Bost, R. Davis, Hultgren, Kinzinger, LaHood, Lipinski, Roskam, Shimkus/IL; Brooks, Bucshon, Messer, Rokita, Stutzman, Walorski, Young/IN; Blum, Young/IA; Huelskamp, Jenkins, Pompeo, Yoder/KS; Barr, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers, Whitfield/KY; Abraham, Boustany, Fleming, Graves, Scalise/LA; Poliquin/ME; Harris/MD; Amash, Benishek, Bishop, Huizenga, Miller, Moolenaar, Trott, Upton, Walberg/MI; Emmer, Kline, Paulsen, Peterson/MN; Harper, Kelly, Palazzo/MS; Graves, Hartzler, Long, Luetkemeyer, Smith, Wagner/MO; Zinke/MT; Fortenberry, Smith/NE; Amodei, Hardy, Heck/NV; Guinta/NH; Frelinghuysen, Garrett, Lance, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Smith/NJ; Pearce/NM; Collins, Donovan, Gibson, Katko, King, Reed, Stefanik, Zeldin/NY; Ellmers, Foxx, Holding, Jones, McHenry, Meadows, Pittenger, Rouzer, Walker/NC; Cramer/ND; Chabot, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Latta, Renacci, Stivers, Tiberi, Turner, Wenstrup/OH; Bridenstine, Cole, Lucas, Mullin, Russell/OK; Walden/OR; Barletta, Costello, Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Marino, Meehan, Murphy, Perry, Pitts, Rothfus, Shuster, Thompson/PA; Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Rice, Sanford, Wilson/SC; Noem/SD; Black, Blackburn, DesJarlais, Duncan, Fincher, Fleischmann, Roe/TN; Babin, Barton, Burgess, Carter, Conaway, Cuellar, Farenthold, Flores, Gohmert, Granger, Hensarling, Hurd, S. Johnson, Marchant, McCaul, Neugebauer, Olson, Poe, Ratcliffe, Sessions, Smith, Thornberry, Weber, Williams/TX; Bishop, Chaffetz, Love, Stewart/UT; Brat, Comstock, Forbes, Goodlatte, Griffith, Hurt, Rigell, Wittman/VA; Herrera-Beutler, McMorris-Rodgers, Newhouse/WA; Jenkins, McKinley, Mooney/WV; Duffy, Grothman, Ribble, Ryan, Sensenbrenner/WI; Lummis/WY.

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Sewell/AL; Gallego, Grijalva, Kirkpatrick, Sinema/AZ; Aguilar, Bass, Becerra, Bera, Brownley, Capps, Cardenas, Chu, Costa, Davis, DeSaulnier, Eshoo, Farr, Garamendi, Hahn, Honda, Huffman, Lee, Lieu, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Matsui, McNerney, Napolitano, Pelosi, Peters, Roybal-Allard, Ruiz, Linda Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Swalwell, Takano, Thompson, Torres, Vargas, Waters/CA; DeGette, Perlmutter, Polis/CO; Courtney, DeLauro, Esty, Himes, Larson/CT; Carney/DE; Brown, Castor, Deutch, Frankel, Graham, Grayson, Hastings, Murphy, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson/FL; Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott/GA; Gabbard, Takai/HI; Bustos, D. Davis, Dold, Duckworth, Foster, Gutierrez, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky/IL; Carson, Visclosky/IN; Loebsack/IA; Yarmuth/KY; Richmond/LA; Cummings, Delaney, Edwards, Hoyer, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes, VanHollen/MD; Capuano, Clark, Keating, Kennedy, Lynch, McGovern, Moulton, Neal, Tsongas/MA; Conyers, Dingell, Kildee, Lawrence, Levin/MI; Ellison, McCollum, Nolan, Walz/MN; Thompson/MS; Clay, Cleaver/MO; Ashford/NE; Titus/NV; Kuster/NH; Norcross, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Sires, Watson-Coleman/NJ; Lujan, Lujan-Grisham/NM; Clarke, Crowley, Engel, Hanna, Higgins, Israel, Jeffries, Lowey, C. Maloney, S. Maloney, Meng, Nadler, Rangel, Rice, Serrano, Slaughter, Tonko, Velazquez/NY; Adams, Butterfield, Price/NC; Beatty, Fudge, Kaptur, Ryan/OH; Blumenauer, Bonamici, DeFazio, Schrader/OR; Boyle, Brady, Cartwright, Dent, Doyle, Fattah/PA; Cicilline, Langevin/RI; Clyburn/SC; Cohen, Cooper/TN; Castro, Doggett, A. Green, G. Green, Hinojosa, Jackson-Lee, E.B. Johnson, O’Rourke, Veasey, Vela/TX; Welch/VT; Beyer, Connolly, Scott/VA; DelBene, Heck, Kilmer, Larsen, McDermott, Smith/WA; Kind, Moore, Pocan/WI.

Present: King/IA.

Not voting: Kelly/IL; Pingree/ME; Meeks/NY; Hudson/NC; Boehner/OH; Brady, Culberson/TX; Reichert/WA.