Life Advocacy Briefing

Who’s Immoral?

WHAT THE HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP IS NOT TELLING THE PUBLIC is that at the same time Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-SanFrancisco) was calling an inanimate object – the border barrier – “immoral,” all but two of her party’s Members were pushing taxpayer-funded abortion on the American public.

In a statement issued before the House passed HR-21, the legislation to “reopen government,” as Democratic lawmakers and the media call it, the White House Office of Management & Budget declared, writes Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews.com, “‘The Administration is committed to working with the Congress to reopen lapsed agencies but cannot accept legislation that provides unnecessary funding for wasteful programs while ignoring the nation’s urgent border security needs.’ The statement,” Mr. Freiburger notes, “primarily focused on the debate over illegal immigration but also highlighted the proposal’s funding of a ‘number of unnecessary programs at excessive levels well beyond what was put forward in the FY2019 budget.

“‘It includes $700 million more than requested for the United Nations, including restoring funding for the United Nations Population Fund,’ the statement noted,” quoted by Mr. Freiburger. “‘The bill would also undermine the President’s Mexico City Policy, which prohibits the funding of foreign nongovernmental organizations that promote or perform abortions.’” Of the $700 million added for the UN, some $32 million was designated for UNFPA, the scandalous UN agency which cooperates with Red China’s notorious forced abortion pogrom. 

The House GOP made an attempt to recommit the bill to committee “with instructions,” which would have included stripping the abortion provisions out of HR-21. All GOP Members in attendance voted “yes,” with just two Democratic Members joining them. We publish excerpts from the House debate and the roll call at the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing. Readers who wish to call their lawmakers to comment on this vote may do so via the Capitol switchboard at 1-202/224-3121.

Out Front for Life

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF EARNEST AMERICANS will take to the streets in our nation’s capital this Friday, Jan. 18, to urge our nation’s lawmakers and judges to restore to our laws the right to Life affirmed by our nation’s Declaration of Independence and amendments to the Constitution.

It’s the annual March for Life, summoned to observe the anniversary of the tragic, unconscionable Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton edicts of the Supreme Court, which on Jan. 22, 1973, spawned the multibillion-dollar industry of life-snuffers, known as legalized abortion. 

The 1 p.m. March from the National Mall near the White House to the steps of the Supreme Court annually reminds Americans – and informs our younger citizens – that Roe and its companion invalidated scores of laws throughout America which protected innocent developing human babies (and their vulnerable mothers) from vicious exploitation and death.

Speakers at the noon rally this year are expected to include US Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and State Rep. Katrina Jackson (D), a pro-life leader from Louisiana, as well as The Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro, pro-life heroine Abby Johnson and Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and director of the Civil Rights for the Unborn project of Priests for Life. As is our custom, we expect to record and transcribe the speeches as they are given, particularly those of Congressional speakers and to publish them in future editions. 

The event is organized by March for Life, Inc., led since 2012 by Jeanne Mancini. The group’s Internet website at https://marchforlife.org lists opportunities for participation in the March, including cities from which chartered buses will depart.

Following the March, participants customarily visit their respective Congressional offices on Capitol Hill, where many of the pro-life lawmakers host office receptions. Friday evening will bring a banquet (“Rose Dinner”) at DC’s Renaissance Hotel; the banquet is already sold out.

Pro-life hero David Daleiden will keynote the annual March for Life conference on Thursday, Jan. 17, also at the Renaissance, where an “expo” showcasing various pro-life organizations will open at 9 a.m. on Jan. 17 and conclude on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. March for Life will host a youth rally in the hotel’s grand ballroom from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17.

Correlating to the March

SEVERAL PRO-LIFE ORGANIZATIONS ARE GATHERING for conferences and rallies related to the March.

Students for Life of America will host an all-day national conference on Saturday, Jan. 19, in Upper Marlboro, Maryland; info about the SfLA conference is available on the group’s Internet page at https://sflalive.org. 

Family Research Council will host its annual Digital Action Summit at 801 G St. NW, Washington, at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 18, chiefly for bloggers and other digital activists; among the speakers is the Radiance Foundation’s Ryan Bomberger and LifeSiteNews reporter Claire Chretien.

Priests for Life will organize its annual National Prayer Service at DAR Constitution Hall on Jan. 18 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.; all are welcome.

Abby Johnson Delivers Black Eye to Planned Parenthood

FORMER PLANNED PARENTHOOD MANAGER ABBY JOHNSON charged Planned Parenthood with “shoddy treatment of pregnant employees” in a Jan. 6 commentary in the Washington Examiner.

“Paid maternity leave is scarce at the nation’s largest abortion provider,” she writes, “even though the organization receives an astounding $500 million in taxpayer funds a year and boasted over $1.4 billion income in its most recent annual report. But care for their own employees who are pregnant and want to keep their babies? Forget about it. …

“If Planned Parenthood claims to fight for women,” writes Mrs. Johnson, “it needs to fight for the well-being of its employees. I would know – I worked for it for eight years as one of the youngest clinic directors in the nation. When I got pregnant, I was told by my supervisor that my pregnancy could be ‘taken care of’ in order to continue my upward career trajectory. To Planned Parenthood, my baby was a hindrance to my career, even though I was married and very much wanted this child. It’s not surprising,” she adds, “considering that abortion is how Planned Parenthood makes its money. The organization makes over a billion dollars a year by telling women they should abort their babies because they aren’t otherwise strong or capable enough … .”

Quick Takes

• ARIZONA’s NEW ABORTION REPORTING LAW has taken effect as of Jan. 1, having been signed into law last April by Gov. Doug Ducey (R). Now every abortion customer must first answer a specific question: why the abortion is being procured. Reports Zach Crenshaw for KGUN-TV/Tucson: “The law requires doctors to ask the patients for their age, race, educational background, marital status and ‘the reason for the abortion,’ among other things.” The law’s legislative sponsor, State Sen. Nancy Barto (R), indicated the new question “‘added critical protections for women who are victims of sex trafficking,’” writes Mr. Crenshaw, noting, “‘These women are often coerced into having abortions by their captors, so ensuring they have an escape avenue when they come to an abortion clinic is an important provision in the bill.’” The television reporter also quotes the Center for Arizona Policy: “‘The new abortion reporting law provides critical data for Arizona policymakers and puts women’s health and safety first.’” How refreshing.
• KANSAS DISTRICT JUDGE FRANKLIN THEIS HAS BLOCKED the 2018 ban on telemed abortions, in which abortion pills are dispensed to customers without the abortionist being physically present with his “patient.” “In comments reported by the Kansas City Star,” reports the Catholic News Agency (CNA), “the executive director of Kansans for Life Mary Kay Culp called [Mr.] Theis’s ruling ‘infuriating’ and said the judge had a long record of ‘taking laws designed by the legislature to protect unborn babies and women and turning them into laws that instead protect the abortion industry.’” Operation Rescue immediately called for the judge’s resignation, noting that he is the state’s perennial go-to guy for the abortion cartel.
• PLANNED PARENTHOOD IS PUSHING THE ENVELOPE with a lawsuit in Idaho against the state’s long-standing law blocking anyone other than a licensed physician to commit abortions. Only five percent of the state’s counties host abortuaries, and even those killing centers have limited hours, supposedly because of the statute barring non-doctors from killing preborn babies. Idaho’s law is standard in Roe-era legislation. “Non-physician abortion,” notes Lisa Bourne for LifeSiteNews.com, “is allowed [only] in California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont.” The lawsuit, according to the Courthouse News Service, was filed in federal court. The Idaho Statesman reports that Rep. Fred Wood (R-Burley), “a retired physician and chairman of the House Health & Welfare Committee,” said he was not aware of the law before [Dec. 27]. As far as he knows, [Rep.] Wood said, “discussion of changing the law has never come up in the Idaho statehouse.” After all, why go to elected representatives of the people, when you can go to a lifetime appointed federal judge?

Defining HR-21 Motion to Recommit

Speeches to the US House by Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Andy Harris MD to support the Granger motion to recommit HR-21 and amend the bill to protect pro-life provisions, transcribed by Life Advocacy Briefing from televised House debate – Jan. 3, 2019

• Rep. Granger: This motion to recommit strikes the section of the Department of State and Foreign Operations Act that reverses the President’s Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy, formerly known as the Mexico City Policy. This Policy is important to protect life and must be maintained. The bill also mandates that funds be made available for UNFPA, and this motion to recommit strikes that requirement. The Administration has determined that this United Nations agency has violated certain provisions of law. No funds should go to UNFPA. We must support this motion to recommit and amend the bill before us to ensure that pro-life policies are maintained.
• Rep. Smith: If reopening the government is the goal, if ending the shutdown is the goal, why does this appropriation package contain a brand-new poison pill rider that overthrows a major comprehensive current-day pro-life policy. Let’s be clear: The Protect Life in Global Health Assistance Policy is eviscerated by this bill. The Protect Life Policy is a significant reiteration and expansion of President Ronald Reagan’s Mexico City Policy, which was first pronounced back in 1984, and that Policy was and is designed to ensure that taxpayer money is not funneled to foreign nongovernmental organizations that perform or promote abortion as a matter of family planning. The Policy done by Trump two years ago establishes pro-child safeguards that are benign and humane … . It’s about protection of these innocent children who might otherwise die from chemical poisoning or by dismemberment. For years, pro-abortion organizations have used US taxpayer funds to weaken, undermine or reverse pro-life laws in other nations and destroy lives of these children. The Speaker earlier today admonished us to protect God’s creation. These unborn children are God’s creations that cry out for our protection. US foreign policy and the foreign entities that we fund with billions of dollars of tax money – grant money, this is grant money – should consistently affirm, care for and tangibly assist women and children, including the unborn child. Let’s not forget: No one is expendable or a throw-away; every human life has eminent value; birth is merely an event, not the beginning of life of a child. Taxpayers should not be forced to fund the organizations that are promoting abortions overseas. …
• Rep. Harris: … The majority of Americans already feel that we spend too much on foreign aid. And yet this bill says we are going to change our policy of the last few years, and we are now going to spend money to fund abortion programs in foreign countries for the purpose of family planning – not for medical purposes – for the purpose of family planning. Now the vast majority of Americans would disagree and say with a $22 trillion debt, we probably shouldn’t be spending money overseas funding abortion for family planning. … But it goes further than that. It restores funding to the United Nations Population Fund. Now in committee we should have had a debate about the UN Population Fund and how in fact it funds China’s coercive forced sterilization and forced abortion policy. Now is that what the United States is about? – sending money overseas for forced sterilization and forced abortion? … It increases funding for international family planning and encourages targeting areas of the world – quote – “where population growth threatens biodiversity and endangered species.” It doesn’t mention anything about human life or the value of human life here. It talks about every other species and the environment as if they’re more important than human life. … And finally, as a physician, it removes the protective law that says that the District of Columbia should not in fact promote Jack Kevorkian-style physician-assisted suicide … . Madam Speaker, if you can’t trust your physician to make each and every judgment in your best interest – not the interest of an HMO that can save money or an insurance company that can save money or the organization that physician works for that can save money if that person agrees to take a suicide-producing drug prescribed by that physician – if we go down that slippery slope, I don’t want to know where we end.

House Voting Record

HR-21 – Funding Various US Agencies through Sept. 30, 2019 – Motion to Recommit with Instructions to Delete Pro-Abortion Provisions Appropriating Tax Funds to UNFPA and Stripping ‘Mexico City Policy’ Anti-Abortion Restrictions from US Foreign Aid – Jan. 3, 2019 – Failed – 199-232 (Democrats in Italics; new Members in ALL CAPS)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Aderholt, Brooks, Byrne, Palmer, Roby, Rogers/AL; Young/AK; Biggs, Gosar, Lesko, Schweikert/AZ; Crawford, Hill, Westerman, Womack/AR; Calvert, Cook, Hunter, LaMalfa, McCarthy, McClintock, Nunes/CA; Buck, Lamborn, Tipton/CO; Bilirakis, Buchanan, Diaz-Balart, Gaetz, Dunn, Mast, Posey, Rooney, Rutherford, SPANO, STEUBE, WALTZ, Webster, Yoho/FL; Allen, Carter, Collins, Ferguson, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, A. Scott, Woodall/GA; FULCHER, Simpson/ID; Bost, R.Davis, Kinzinger, LaHood, Lipinski, Shimkus/IL; BAIRD, Banks, Brooks, Bucshon, Hollingsworth, PENCE, Walorski/IN; King/IA; Estes, Marshall, WATKINS/KS; Barr, Comer, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers/KY; Abraham, Graves, Higgins, Johnson, Scalise/LA; Harris/MD; Amash, Bergman, Huizenga, Mitchell, Moolenaar, Upton, Walberg/MI; Emmer, HAGEDORN, Peterson, STAUBER/MN; GUEST, Kelly, Palazzo/MS; Graves, Hartzler, Long, Luetkemeyer, Smith, Wagner/MO; Gianforte/MT; Bacon, Fortenberry, Smith/NE; Amodei/NV; Smith/NJ; Collins, Katko, King, Reed, Stefanik, Zeldin/NY; Budd, Foxx, Holding, Hudson, McHenry, Meadows, Rouzer, Walker/NC; ARMSTRONG/ND; Balderson, Chabot, Davidson, Gibbs, GONZALEZ, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Latta, Stivers, Turner, Wenstrup/OH; Cole, HERN, Lucas, Mullin/OK; Walden/OR; Fitzpatrick, JOYCE, Kelly, Marino, MEUSER, Perry, RESCHENTHALER, Thompson/PA; Duncan, Norman, Rice, TIMMONS, Wilson/SC; JOHNSON/SD; BURCHETT, DesJarlais, Fleischmann, GREEN, Kustoff, Roe, ROSE/TN; Arrington, Babin, Brady, Burgess, Carter, Cloud, Conaway, Crenshaw, Flores, Gohmert, GOODEN, Granger, Hurd, Marchant, McCaul, Olson, Ratcliffe, ROY, TAYLOR, Thornberry, Weber, Williams, WRIGHT/TX; Bishop, Curtis, Stewart/UT; CLINE, Griffith, RIGGLEMAN, Wittman/VA; Herrera-Beutler, McMorris-Rodgers, Newhouse/WA; McKinley, MILLER, Mooney/WV; Duffy, Gallagher, Grothman, Sensenbrenner, STEIL/WI; Cheney/WY.

Voting “no”/anti-Life: Sewell/AL; Gallego, Grijalva, Kirkpatrick, O’Halleran, STANTON/AZ; Aguilar, Barragan, Bass, Bera, Brownley, Carbajal, Cardenas, Chu, CISNEROS, Correa, Costa, COX, Davis, DeSaulnier, Eshoo, Garamendi, Gomez, HARDER, HILL, Huffman, Khanna, Lee, LEVIN, Lieu, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Matsui, McNerney, Napolitano, Panetta, Peters, PORTER, ROUDA, Roybal-Allard, Ruiz, Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Swalwell, Takano, Thompson, Torres, Vargas, Waters/CA; CROW, DeGette, NEGUSE, Perlmutter/CO; Courtney, DeLauro, HAYES, Himes, Larson/CT; Blunt-Rochester/DE; Castor, Crist, Demings, Deutch, Frankel, Hastings, Lawson, MUCARSEL-POWELL, Murphy, SHALALA, Soto, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson/FL; Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, McBATH, D. Scott/GA; CASE, Gabbard/HI; Bustos, CASTEN, D.Davis, Foster, GARCIA, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky, Schneider, UNDERWOOD/IL; Carson, Visclosky/IN; AXNE, FINKENAUER, Loebsack/IA; DAVIDS/KS; Yarmuth/KY; Richmond/LA; GOLDEN, Pingree/ME; Brown, Cummings, Hoyer, Raskin, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes, TRONE/MD; Clark, Keating, Kennedy, Lynch, McGovern, Moulton, Neal, PRESSLEY, TRAHAN/MA; Dingell, Kildee, Lawrence, LEVIN, SLOTKIN, STEVENS, TLAIB/MI; CRAIG, McCollum, OMAR, PHILLIPS/MN; Thompson/MS; Clay, Cleaver/MO; HORSFORD, LEE, Titus/NV; Kuster, PAPPAS/NH; Gottheimer, KIM, MALINOWSKI, Norcross, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, SHERRILL, Sires, VanDREW, Watson-Coleman/NJ; HAALAND, Lujan, TORRES-SMALL/NM; BRINDISI, Clarke, DELGADO, Engel, Espaillat, Higgins, Jeffries, Lowey, C.Maloney, S.Maloney, Meeks, Meng, MORELLE, Nadler, OCASIO-CORTEZ, Rice, ROSE, Serrano, Suozzi, Tonko, Velazquez/NY; Adams, Butterfield, Price/NC; Beatty, Fudge, Kaptur, Ryan/OH; HORN/OK; Blumenauer, Bonamici, DeFazio, Schrader/OR; Boyle, Cartwright, DEAN, Doyle, Evans, HOULAHAN, Lamb, SCANLON, WILD/PA; Cicilline, Langevin/RI; Clyburn, CUNNINGHAM/SC; Cohen, Cooper/TN; ALLRED, Castro, Cuellar, Doggett, ESCOBAR, FLETCHER, GARCIA, A.Green, Gonzalez, Jackson-Lee, Johnson, Veasey, Vela/TX; McADAMS/UT; Welch/VT; Beyer, Connolly, LURIA, McEachin, Scott, SPANBERGER, WEXTON/VA; DelBene, Heck, Jayapal, Kilmer, Larsen, SCHRIER, Smith/WA; Kind, Moore, Pocan/WI.

Not voting: Pelosi/CA, Jones/NC, Smucker/PA.