Life Advocacy Briefing

High Priority

THE HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE HAS REPORTED FAVORABLY a bill drafted to abolish the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) created within ObamaCare. It was IPAB that was dubbed “death panel” by some of the more discerning politicians of the day. Its repeal is an initiative being advanced by National Right to Life (NRL).

HR-849 passed out of the Ways & Means Committee Oct. 4 by a vote of 24 to 13, sponsored by Rep. David P. Roe (R-TN), a physician before entering Congress, together with a whopping 266 bi-partisan co-sponsors. Its Senate companion, S-260, is sponsored by Senate Assistant Majority Leader John Cornyn (R-TX) and 36 GOP co-sponsors; it is residing in the Senate Committee on Finance.

“The IPAB is composed of 15 unelected bureaucrats who are answerable to no one,” asserts NRL president Carol Tobias in an Oct. 2 letter to Members of Congress. “The Board is directed to recommend measures to limit private, nongovernmental spending on health care to a growth rate below medical inflation. … IPAB’s powers go well beyond some benign effort to control Medicare spending,” writes Mrs. Tobias. “IPAB would recommend drastic limits for the Dept. of Health & Human Services to impose on what Americans are allowed to spend out of their own funds to save their own lives and the lives of their families.

“Given this extraordinary power and an apparent disregard for the sanctity of life,” she charges, “it is not surprising that some have dubbed IPAB a ‘death panel.’ …

“National Right to Life urges every Member of Congress to recognize the importance of repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board, since ObamaCare remains law,” notes Mrs. Tobias. “We urge you to act now to repeal this assault on our healthcare system and the sanctity of life and to reject the dangerous consolidation of unchecked government power which IPAB represents.”

We at Life Advocacy join NRL in urging passage of the IPAB repeal in both the House and the Senate, and we ask our readers to call both their US Senators as well as their own US Representative to ask support for repealing IPAB now. (Capitol switchboard: 1-202/224-3121)

Huge Victory!

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCED in early October a pair of regulations which, reports the Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS), “provide conscience protections to Americans who have a religious or moral objection to paying for health insurance that covers contraceptive/abortifacient services.

“ObamaCare-compliant health insurance plans,” explains the notice posted on the HHS Internet website, “are required to cover ‘preventive services,’ a term defined through regulation. Under the existing regulatory requirements created by the previous Administration,” notes HHS, “employers, unless they qualify for an exemption, must offer health insurance that covers all FDA-approved contraception, which includes medications and devices that may act as abortifacients as well [as] sterilization procedures.

“Under the first of two companion rules,” explains HHS, “entities that have sincerely held religious beliefs against providing such services would no longer be required to do so. The second rule applies the same protections,” notes HHS, “to organizations and small businesses that have objections on the basis of moral conviction which is not based in any particular religious belief.”

The new rules implement an executive order signed by the President last May, notes HHS, directing the Secretaries of HHS, Labor and Treasury “to consider amending existing regulations relative to ObamaCare’s preventive-care mandate in order to address conscience-based objections.”

The extension of the new rules to “moral conviction … not based in any particular religious belief” takes the conscience protections under the new rules even beyond the US Supreme Court rulings which have sided with religious conscience rights of employers in cases such as the Hobby Lobby decision late in the Obama tenure.

We do agree with BreakPoint’s John Stonestreet in his assessment that this important though limited victory needs to be confirmed in statutory law; that is, enacted by Congress. But for the time being, we are grateful for common sense to be prevailing in the White House and in the bureaucracy on this critical issue.

Truth Telling Wins – at Least This Time

EVEN THE LEFT-WING WASHINGTON POST HAD TO ADMIT: Pres. Donald Trump told the truth when he noted that the US is one of only seven countries that “allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.”

The daily newspaper in the nation’s capital is well known for its bias, but it’s also known for a fact-checking feature in which it awards what it calls “Pinocchios.” Noting Pres. Trump’s claim (made in a White House position statement endorsing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act), Post staffer Michelle Ye Hee Lee dived into research on abortion laws worldwide and discovered, alas, that the claim is true. (Kudos to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, research arm of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, for publishing true facts used in this instance by the Post’s “fact checker.”)

“This statistic seemed dubious at first,” writes Ms. Lee, “because it seemed extreme for just seven countries out of 198 to allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. But upon further digging, the data back up the claim. … Further, what is telling [is that] research from both sides of the reproductive rights debate confirm this figure. It’s not easy to boil down complex abortion laws in a cross-comparative manner like this, and there are some minor caveats associated with this talking point,” writes Ms. Lee. “Still, we did not find the caveats rise to the level of [even] One Pinocchio. We award the elusive Geppetto Checkmark when a factoid surprisingly turns out to be true, as in this case.”

Perhaps the Post editorial board should take its own Geppetto Checkmark into account the next time it publishes a story, an editorial or an endorsement related to abortion “rights.” Indeed, perhaps its apparent shock at the veracity of the disturbing statistic should lead the Post to editorialize in favor of the post-20-week abortion ban now gestating in the US Senate, where Post allies in office are waiting to pounce.

The very concept that the United States of America is among such countries as North Korea, Red China, Viet Nam and the Netherlands in the void of legal protection for unborn human persons is and ought to be deeply shocking. And it calls out to decent people to reverse such a blot – now.

Time to Help David Daleiden Resist Big Abortion’s Legal Team

A LEGAL DEFENSE FUND HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED to aid David Daleiden in his fight against criminal charges brought against him by the abortion industry’s abettors in California politics. The young investigator – whose undercover videos have exposed the trafficking in aborted baby body parts by Planned Parenthood and others in the abortion cartel – is being persecuted by California Attorney Gen. Xavier Becerra (D), who is well known for his radicalism and compiled a strongly pro-abortion voting record during his 24 years in Congress.

“‘They’re trying to crush David Daleiden (and) they’re trying to crush Sandra Merritt, his colleague who helped on the investigation,’ said international pro-life activist David Bereit, formerly of 40 Days for Life,” reports Claire Chretien for LifeSiteNews.com. “‘They’re trying to make an example out of these courageous video investigators.’”

They are also trying to maintain the quashing of the balance of the disturbing documentary footage maintained by Mr. Daleiden’s Center for Medical Progress (CMP), videos which have yet to be released because of court orders seeking to shield Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation from public disclosure.

CMP “will soon release ‘some of the most damning and incriminating tapes that we ever recorded,’” Mr. Daleiden told participants in an Oct. 5 webcast reported by Ms. Chretien. “‘Close to half the video footage that I ever gathered still has never seen the light of day,’” he added.

“Pro-life leaders announced on the webcast,” reports Ms. Chretien, “that the Susan B. Anthony List [SBA], through an anonymous donor, has secured a $500,000 matching grant for [Mr.] Daleiden’s defense fund. This means all donations up to $500,000 will be matched dollar for dollar.”

The president of the Thomas More Society, a pro-life pro-bono law firm which is leading Mr. Daleiden’s defense, told viewers of the webcast the legal team’s “‘costs are humongous,’” reports Ms. Chretien. “‘They’re up in seven figures. And yet that’s working on a shoestring.’ So far,” reports LifeSiteNews, “‘[Mr.] Daleiden’s legal defense has already cost $1.4 million. It will cost millions more. Planned Parenthood and its abortion allies,” notes Ms. Chretien, “are far better funded. …

“A crowdfunding campaign for the matching grant will likely be launched next week” on the Internet, reports Ms. Chretien. “In the meantime,” she writes, “donations can be made through the Thomas More Society’s website” at https://donate.cornerstone.cc/Thomas+More+Society.

No Excuses!

Oct. 5, 2017, BreakPoint commentary by John Stonestreet

            Congress has a chance right now to end one of the most grisly types of abortion. Pro-lifers, it’s time to get loud.

            On Tuesday (Oct. 3) the US House of Representatives passed HR-36, the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” on a vote of 237-189. If enacted this bill would criminalize abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. While it’s similar to laws already in place in a few states, it’s also similar to federal bills that failed in 2013 and 2015.

            The crucial difference between then and now, of course, is the Republican President in the White House – one who campaigned on an explicitly pro-life platform and has pledged to sign this bill. That means the only thing now standing between the Pain-Capable Act and the President’s desk is the Senate – which is no small hurdle.

            Why is this legislation so important? Well, as the name suggests, babies at 20 weeks of gestation have nervous systems developed enough to feel pain. Now, in a consistent pro-life worldview, functional abilities have nothing to do with human dignity, and so all abortions are wrong. But abortions conducted just two or three weeks prior to the current point of viability are particularly and obviously gruesome.

            Chances are you may have met someone who was born prematurely at around 24 weeks. Killing any child should be unthinkable, but just before viability? In fact, former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino explains how gruesome second trimester abortions are in a disturbing video for LiveAction. We’ve linked to it at BreakPoint.org, but I’ll tell you this much: It involves literally ripping a baby limb from limb.

            On a purely political basis – and contrary to claims by Planned Parenthood and others – this bill is popular on both sides of the political aisle. A 2013 Gallup poll found just 27% of Americans think abortion should be legal after the first trimester of pregnancy which, by the way, ends at 12 weeks of gestation.  

            A Knights of Columbus poll in 2014 found an incredible 84% of Americans want to restrict abortion to the first three months of pregnancy or less! And – are you sitting down for this? – 62% of those who are strongly pro-choice support a 20-week ban. These are folks who support paying for abortions with tax dollars. As Will Saletan at Slate admits, “even most pro-choice people aren’t sold” on killing babies within a hair’s breadth of viability.

            And this legislation would also moderate America’s extremely liberal federal abortion laws, making them more like those of other Western nations. Now, I’m no fan of modeling America after Europe, as some are, but as Cassy Fiano explains in a video for Prager University, Germany, Denmark, Belgium and France all heavily restrict or effectively ban abortions after the first trimester. Only seven other countries have abortion laws like America, and two of them are North Korea and [Red] China.

            So where’s our challenge? CNN reports that GOP Whip Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, when asked whether his chamber would take up this legislation, said, “That’s not a near-term priority.”

            Say what? If ending abortion isn’t the reason pro-lifers vote overwhelmingly Republican, what is? Look, for too long we’ve heard lots of pro-life rhetoric on the GOP campaign trail, only to see the unborn take a backseat to other priorities in Washington. So it’s time to send a clear message to Cornyn and other Senate Republicans: This is why your constituents elected you. Get busy.

            And for Democratic Senators, we say, “Look at the poll numbers. Listen to Americans. The majority of your voters – the pro-choice crowd – supports this legislation.” Listen to them, not to Planned Parenthood or the increasingly irrelevant abortion lobby. End this most grisly form of abortion now.

            Now make no mistake – all abortion should be illegal. But this is a huge step in the right direction. Come to BreakPoint.org and we’ll help you get in touch with your US Senators. It’s their job to listen. And it’s our job to speak for those who can’t.

House Voting Record

HR-36 – Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act – Oct. 3, 2017 – Procedural Motion to Recommit (Block Passage) – Failed – 187-238 (Democrats in italics) (Roll Call 548)

Voting “no” / pro-Life: Aderholt, Brooks, Byrne, Palmer, Roby, Rogers/AL; Young/AK; Biggs, Franks, Gosar, McSally, 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, Curbelo, DeSantis, Diaz-Balart, Dunn, Gaetz, Mast, Posey, F.Rooney, T.Rooney, Ros-Lehtinen, Ross, Rutherford, Webster, Yoho/FL; Allen, Carter, Collins, Ferguson, Graves, Handel, Hice, A.Scott, Woodall/GA; Labrador, Simpson/ID; Bost, R.Davis, Hultgren, Kinzinger, LaHood, Lipinski, Roskam, Shimkus/IL; Banks, Brooks, Bucshon, Hollingsworth, Messer, Rokita, Walorski/IN; Blum, King, Young/IA; Estes, Jenkins, Marshall, Yoder/KS; Barr, Comer, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers/KY; Abraham, Graves, Higgins, Johnson, Scalise/LA; Poliquin/ME; Harris/MD; Amash, Bergman, Bishop, Huizenga, Mitchell, Moolenaar, Trott, Upton, Walberg/MI; Emmer, Lewis, Paulsen, Peterson/MN; Harper, Kelly, Palazzo/MS; Graves, Hartzler, Luetkemeyer, Smith, Wagner/MO; Gianforte/MT; Bacon, Fortenberry, Smith/NE; Amodei/NV; Frelinghuysen, Lance, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Smith/NJ; Pearce/NM; Collins, Donovan, Faso, Katko, King, Reed, Stefanik, Tenney, Zeldin/NY; Budd, Foxx, Holding, Hudson, Jones, McHenry, Meadows, Pittenger, Rouzer, Walker/NC; Cramer/ND; Chabot, Davidson, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Latta, Renacci, Stivers, Tiberi, Turner, Wenstrup/OH; Cole, Lucas, Mullin, Russell/OK; Walden/OR; Barletta, Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Marino, Meehan, Murphy, Perry, Rothfus, Shuster, Smucker, Thompson/PA; Duncan, Gowdy, Norman, Rice, Sanford, Wilson/SC; Noem/SD; Black, Blackburn, DesJarlais, Duncan, Fleischmann, Kustoff, Roe/TN; Arrington, Babin, Barton, Brady, Burgess, Carter, Conaway, Culberson, Farenthold, Flores, Gohmert, Granger, Hensarling, Hurd, S.Johnson, Marchant, McCaul, Olson, Poe, Ratcliffe, Sessions, Smith, Thornberry, Weber, Williams/TX; Bishop, Love, Stewart/UT; Brat, Comstock, Garrett, Goodlatte, Griffith, Taylor, Wittman/VA; Herrera-Beutler, McMorris-Rodgers, Newhouse, Reichert/WA; Jenkins, McKinley, Mooney/WV; Duffy, Gallagher, Grothman, Sensenbrenner/WI; Cheney/WY.

Voting “yes” / anti-Life: Sewell/AL; Gallego, Grijalva, O’Halleran, Sinema/AZ; Aguilar, Barragan, Bass, Bera, Brownley, Carbajal, Cardenas, Chu, Correa, Costa, Davis, DeSaulnier, Eshoo, Garamendi, Gomez, Huffman, Khanna, Lee, Lieu, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Matsui, McNerney, Napolitano, Panetta, Pelosi, Peters, Roybal-Allard, Ruiz, Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Swalwell, Takano, Thompson, Torres, Vargas, Waters/CA; DeGette, Perlmutter, Polis/CO; Courtney, DeLauro, Esty, Larson/CT; Blunt-Rochester/DE; Castor, Crist, Demings, Deutch, Frankel, Hastings, Lawson, Murphy, Soto, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson/FL; Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D.Scott/GA; Gabbard, Hanabusa/HI; Bustos, D.Davis, Gutierrez, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky, Schneider/IL; Carson, Visclosky/IN; Loebsack/IA; Yarmuth/KY; Richmond/LA; Pingree/ME; Brown, Cummings, Delaney, Hoyer, Raskin, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes/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; Kuster, Shea-Porter/NH; Gottheimer, Norcross, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Sires, Watson-Coleman/NJ; Lujan, Lujan-Grisham/NM; Clarke, Crowley, Engel, Espaillat, Higgins, Jeffries, Lowey, C.Maloney, S.Maloney, Meeks, Meng, Nadler, Rice, Serrano, Slaughter, Suozzi, Tonko, Velazquez/NY; Adams, Butterfield, Price/NC; Beatty, Fudge, Kaptur, Ryan/OH; Blumenauer, Bonamici, DeFazio, Schrader/OR; Boyle, Brady, Cartwright, Doyle, Evans/PA; Cicilline, Langevin/RI; Clyburn/SC; Cohen, Cooper/TN; Castro, Cuellar, Doggett, Gonzalez, A.Green, G.Green, Jackson-Lee, E.B.Johnson, O’Rourke, Veasey, Vela/TX; Welch/VT; Beyer, Connolly, McEachin, Scott/VA; DelBene, Heck, Jayapal, Kilmer, Larsen, Smith/WA; Kind, Moore, Pocan/WI.

Not Voting: Himes/CT; Loudermilk/GA; Foster/IL; Long/MO; Kihuen, Rosen, Titus/NV; Bridenstine/OK; Ryan/WI.