Life Advocacy Briefing

Senate Rejects Vote on Late-Term Ban

THE U.S. SENATE VOTED DOWN THE CLOTURE MOTION to close debate and vote last Monday on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, S-2311. The bill outlaws abortions on babies who have reached the 20th week of gestation. Just three Democratic Senators voted in favor of taking a vote on the mainstream measure, while two Republicans voted “no;” we publish the roll call near the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing.

In filing the cloture motion to end debate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) declared, referring to the March for Life: “Last week, Americans from all across the country … came here to Washington to speak up for unborn children whom our legal system has denied the right to Life. Now Congress has an opportunity to step forward. The US is currently one of just seven countries – including China and North Korea – that permits elective abortion after 20 weeks. It is time we begin to remedy this obvious and tragic moral wrong. This long-overdue legislation would do just that.”

But Sen. McConnell needed 60 votes – which would include at least nine Senators from the minority party – to move the bill to a passage vote. The vote total, instead, was 51 to 46. The measure easily passed the House last year.

“‘The American people will not forget,’” said Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, quoted by Claire Chretien for LifeSiteNews.com, “‘the extreme position taken by Senate Democrats to block this commonsense legislation to stop barbaric late abortions.’”

Ms. Chretien further reports that Pres. Donald Trump “asked the Senate to ‘reconsider’ its vote, saying, ‘we must defend those who cannot defend themselves.’” But for that to happen, one of the “no”-voting Senators must make a motion to reconsider, and that is considered beyond unlikely.

Schumer Celebrates

PERHAPS THE MOST DISTURBING ASPECT of the Senate’s rejection of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act came with a gesture by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) after Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) voted “no” on bringing the bill forward.

Sen. Heitkamp is one of a handful of Democratic Senators whose term is scheduled to end early next year, following the general election; Senators’ terms are staggered, with about one-third of the Senate standing for election in any even-numbered year, and Sen. Heitkamp is one of those who will seek another term this November. Furthermore, she is viewed as “vulnerable,” because her home-state voters chose Republican President Donald Trump by an overwhelming margin in 2016. Consequently, Sen. Schumer was unsure whether she would cast her vote with her state’s voters or with him and the majority of her fellow Democratic Senators; a wiser vote, politically, would have been “yes” for the endangered so-called “moderate.”

According to the LifeSiteNews.com report by Claire Chretien, “Sen. Schumer high-fived and then clasped the hand of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp on the floor of the US Senate after she voted ‘no’ on ending debate over the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.’ …

“Immediately after [Sen.] Heitkamp voted against stopping late-term abortions on babies who feel pain,” writes Ms. Chretien, the Susan B. Anthony List pro-life political action committee “announced a digital ad campaign against her in North Dakota.” SBA List is known to be a powerful force in educating the public on radically pro-abortion positions taken by their elected officials.

Brownback Confirmed

THE SENATE VOTED TO CONFIRM former Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Though Amb. Brownback, who left mid-term his elected post as Governor of Kansas to take the ambassadorship, was a well-respected US Senator for some 14 years, Democrats in the Senate appear to be unable to vote to confirm a Trump nominee who has a stellar record of leading in the cause of Life.

Since his ardent defense of human life was one of the principal bases of controversy over his nomination, Life Advocacy Briefing publishes the roll calls on his confirmation near the close of this edition.

We congratulate Ambassador Brownback and thank Pres. Trump for appointing him to this critical post, which was established by law during the Obama Regime but never filled.

More Later

WE HAD PLANNED TO PUBLISH THIS WEEK our transcript of the March for Life rally speech by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), but space does not permit. We promise to publish it as soon as feasible and will also, as space permits, publish our transcripts of MfL speeches by Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Jaime Herrera-Beutler (R-WA) in future editions.

Bye-Bye, Cecile

Jan. 29, 2018, Washington Update commentary by Family Research Council president Tony Perkins

            Days after the nation solemnly marked the 45th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the woman at the helm of the nation’s abortion giant has announced her retirement.

            For over a decade, Cecile Richards has been president of Planned Parenthood – an organization that has aborted more babies in the United States than any other entity. Last year, nearly one million babies lost their lives to abortion [in the US]. One-third of them died in one of Richards’s centers.

            She has made no public announcement about her future, though many on the Left are calling for her to follow in the footsteps of her mother, the former governor of Texas, Ann Richards. Politics was Cecile Richards’s specialty at Planned Parenthood. News outlets sympathetic to her goals, like Buzzfeed, go so far as to give her personal credit for tightening the Democratic Party platform’s embrace of abortion without apology. Remember when Democrats used to call for abortion to be “safe, legal and rare”? That’s apostasy for today’s Democratic Party. Party leaders have now made it crystal clear that if you hold pro-life views, you are not welcome.

            Richards goes out with a bang. According to Planned Parenthood’s recently released 2016-2017 report, the abortion leader brought in almost $1.5 billion in revenue last year – an increase of more than $100 million from the year before.

            Compare the number of babies Planned Parenthood helped take out of the world to the number it helped come in: Last year it claims 321,384 abortions compared to just under 8,000 prenatal services.

            Taxpayers are still Planned Parenthood’s primary funding source. Taxpayers were forced to give the nation’s abortion leader over $500 million tax dollars last year, according to its report. Most of that money comes from federal funding that Congress could stop.

            Revenues were not the only thing rising at Planned Parenthood. The heat has been steadily rising on this organization due to the video-supported allegations that Planned Parenthood traffics in body parts from the babies it aborts. Earlier this month, the Justice Dept. announced a forthcoming investigation into Planned Parenthood’s alleged involvement in selling fetal tissue for profit.

            As Richards changes her occupation, pray that she might have a change of heart as well. There have been spectacular conversions in the pro-life movement: Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade, and former abortionist Dr. Bernard Nathanson were both abortion crusaders-turned-pro-life activists. After peddling terrible lies in the name of abortion, they brought many, many more people to the light.

            Imagine what a conversion of this abortion titan would do.

Senate Voting Records

Cloture on Confirmation of Sam Brownback as Ambassador-at-Large for Int’l Religious Freedom – Jan. 24, 2018 – Adopted – 50-49 (including “aye” vote by Vice Pres. Pence to break tie) (Democrats in italics; “Independent” marked “I”; New Member in ALL CAPS)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Shelby/AL, Murkowski & Sullivan/AK, Flake/AZ, Boozman & Cotton/AR, Gardner/CO, Rubio/FL, Isakson & Perdue/GA, Crapo & Risch/ID, Young/IN, Ernst & Grassley/IA, Moran & Roberts/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Cassidy & Kennedy/LA, Collins/ME, Cochran & Wicker/MS, Blunt/MO, Daines/MT, Fischer & Sasse/NE, Heller/NV, Burr & Tillis/NC, Hoeven/ND, Portman/OH, Inhofe & Lankford/OK, Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Rounds & Thune/SD, Alexander/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Hatch & Lee/UT, Capito/WV, Johnson/WI, Barrasso & Enzi/WY.

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Jones/AL, Feinstein & Harris/CA, Bennet/CO, Blumenthal & Murphy/CT, Carper & Coons/DE, Nelson/FL, Hirono & Schatz/HI, Duckworth & Durbin/IL, Donnelly/IN, King(I)/ME, Cardin & VanHollen/MD, Markey & Warren/MA, Peters & Stabenow/MI, Klobuchar & SMITH/MN, McCaskill/MO, Tester/MT, Cortez-Masto/NV, Hassan & Shaheen/NH, Booker & Menendez/NJ, Heinrich & Udall/NM, Gillibrand & Schumer/NY, Heitkamp/ND, Brown/OH, Merkley & Wyden/OR, Casey/PA, Reed & Whitehouse/RI, Leahy & Sanders/VT, Kaine & Warner/VA, Cantwell & Murray/WA, Manchin/WV, Baldwin/WI.

Not voting: McCain/AZ & Corker/TN.

Confirmation of Sam Brownback as Ambassador-at-Large for Int’l Religious Freedom – Jan. 24, 2018 – Confirmed – 50-49 (including “aye” vote by Vice Pres. Pence to break tie) (Democrats in italics; “Independent” marked “I”)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Shelby/AL, Murkowski & Sullivan/AK, Flake/AZ, Boozman & Cotton/AR, Gardner/CO, Rubio/FL, Isakson & Perdue/GA, Crapo & Risch/ID, Young/IN, Ernst & Grassley/IA, Moran & Roberts/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Cassidy & Kennedy/LA, Collins/ME, Cochran & Wicker/MS, Blunt/MO, Daines/MT, Fischer & Sasse/NE, Heller/NV, Burr & Tillis/NC, Hoeven/ND, Portman/OH, Inhofe & Lankford/OK, Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Rounds & Thune/SD, Alexander/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Hatch & Lee/UT, Capito/WV, Johnson/WI, Barrasso & Enzi/WY.

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Jones/AL, Feinstein & Harris/CA, Bennet/CO, Blumenthal & Murphy/CT, Carper & Coons/DE, Nelson/FL, Hirono & Schatz/HI, Duckworth & Durbin/IL, Donnelly/IN, King(I)/ME, Cardin & VanHollen/MD, Markey & Warren/MA, Peters & Stabenow/MI, Klobuchar & Smith/MN, McCaskill/MO, Tester/MT, Cortez-Masto/NV, Hassan & Shaheen/NH, Booker & Menendez/NJ, Heinrich & Udall/NM, Gillibrand & Schumer/NY, Heitkamp/ND, Brown/OH, Merkley & Wyden/OR, Casey/PA, Reed & Whitehouse/RI, Leahy & Sanders/VT, Kaine & Warner/VA, Cantwell & Murray/WA, Manchin/WV, Baldwin/WI.

Not voting: McCain/AZ & Corker/TN.

Cloture motion to end debate on S-2311 – Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act – Jan. 29, 2018 – Failed – 51-46 (needing 60) (Democrats in italics; “Independent” marked “I”)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Shelby/AL, Sullivan/AK, Flake/AZ, Boozman & Cotton/AR, Gardner/CO, Rubio/FL, Isakson & Perdue/GA, Crapo & Risch/ID, Donnelly & Young/IN, Ernst & Grassley/IA, Moran & Roberts/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Cassidy & Kennedy/LA, Cochran & Wicker/MS, Blunt/MO, Daines/MT, Fischer & Sasse/NE, Heller/NV, Burr & Tillis/NC, Hoeven/ND, Portman/OH, Inhofe & Lankford/OK, Casey & Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Rounds & Thune/SD, Alexander & Corker/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Hatch & Lee/UT, Capito & Manchin/WV, Johnson/WI, Barrasso & Enzi/WY.

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Jones/AL, Murkowski/AK, Feinstein & Harris/CA, Bennet/CO, Blumenthal & Murphy/CT, Carper & Coons/DE, Hirono & Schatz/HI, Duckworth & Durbin/IL, Collins & King(I)/ME, Cardin & VanHollen/MD, Markey & Warren/MA, Peters & Stabenow/MI, Klobuchar & Smith/MN, McCaskill/MO, Tester/MT, Cortez-Masto/NV, Hassan & Shaheen/NH, Booker & Menendez/NJ, Heinrich & Udall/NM, Gillibrand & Schumer/NY, Heitkamp/ND, Brown/OH, Merkley & Wyden/OR, Reed & Whitehouse/RI, Leahy & Sanders/VT, Kaine & Warner/VA, Cantwell & Murray/WA.

Not voting: McCain/AZ, Nelson/FL, Baldwin/WI.

House Voting Record

HRes-694 – Ending Debate on the Rule for consideration of HR-4712, Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act – Jan. 18, 2018 – Adopted – 229-190 (Democrats in italics)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Aderholt, Brooks, Byrne, Palmer, Roby, Rogers/AL; Young/AK; Biggs, 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, Loudermilk, A.Scott, Woodall/GA; Labrador, Simpson/ID; Bost, R.Davis, Hultgren, Kinzinger, LaHood, 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/LA; Poliquin/ME; Harris/MD; Amash, Bergman, Bishop, Huizenga, Mitchell, Moolenaar, Trott, Upton, Walberg/MI; Emmer, Lewis, Paulsen/MN; Harper, Kelly, Palazzo/MS; Graves, Hartzler, Long, 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, Turner, Wenstrup/OH; Bridenstine, Cole, Lucas, Mullin, Russell/OK; Walden/OR; Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Marino, Perry, Smucker/PA; Duncan, Gowdy, Norman, Rice, Sanford, Wilson/SC; 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, Curtis, 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 “no” / 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, Himes, 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, Foster, Gutierrez, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi, Lipinski, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky, Schneider/IL; Carson, Visclosky/IN; Loebsack/IA; Yarmuth/KY; Richmond/LA; Pingree/ME; Brown, Delaney, Hoyer, Raskin, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes/MD; Capuano, Clark, Keating, Kennedy, Lynch, McGovern, Moulton, Neal, Tsongas/MA; Dingell, Kildee, Lawrence, Levin/MI; Ellison, McCollum, Nolan, Peterson, Walz/MN; Thompson/MS; Clay, Cleaver/MO; Kihuen, Rosen, Titus/NV; 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; Connolly, McEachin, Scott/VA; DelBene, Heck, Jayapal, Kilmer, Larsen, Smith/WA; Moore, Pocan/WI.

Not Voting: Scalise/LA; Cummings/MD; Barletta, Kelly, Meehan, Rothfus, Shuster, Thompson/PA; Noem/SD; Beyer/VA; Kind, Ryan/WI.