Life Advocacy Briefing

November 2, 2020

Unsurprising but So Welcome! / Prosecutors Who Won’t Prosecute
Which Way, Colorado? / Kentucky’s ‘Hospital Privileges’ Law Upheld
Keeping the Republic / Senate Voting Records

Unsurprising but So Welcome!

THE U.S. SENATE LAST MONDAY CONFIRMED 7th Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett to her new, lifetime post as an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court. Hallelujah!

The vote came after a weekend of attempted partisan maneuvering by the Senate’s radical Minority Leader, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) implacably carried out his plan – step by step – to complete the Constitution-prescribed process of examining Justice Barrett’s credentials and confirming her appointment to the high court.

We publish the voting records on various procedural motions and on the confirmation itself at the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing. The records reflect the Senate’s sharp partisan divide.

The vote came too late for our biennial Voting Record Index, which we published in October to aid our readers in doing their electoral homework. We counsel readers who wish to take the Barrett confirmation votes into account to examine and save the votes reported herein.

 

Prosecutors Who Won’t Prosecute

SEEKING TO STIR HYSTERIA AMONG ABORTION ADVOCATES – and to show off their own loyalty to the abortion cartel, a group of 64 prosecutors have issued a declaration that in the event Roe v. Wade is ever overturned, these elected officials will refuse to prosecute illegal abortionists in their jurisdictions – provided they are still in office at the time.

Rather than repeating the excuses they offer and the letter’s trashing of pro-life laws in a variety of states, we trust our readers to grasp the implications of such a declaration against these officials’ oaths of office and simply here list the names and offices of the signers, arranged by alphabetical order of their states.

Alabama: Danny Carr, Jefferson County. California: Xavier Becerra, Attorney General; Diana Becton, ContraCosta County; Chesa Boudin, SanFrancisco; Jeff Rosen, SantaClara County. Colorado: Phil Weiser, Attorney General; Beth McCann, 2nd Judicial District; Michael Dougherty, 20th Judicial District. Delaware: Kathleen Jennings, Attorney General. Georgia: Sherry Boston, DeKalb County; Paul Howard, Fulton County; David Cooke, Macon Judicial Circuit­. Hawaii: Justin Kollar, Kauai County. Illinois: Kwame Raoul, Attorney General; Kimberly Foxx, Cook County. Indiana: Ryan Mears, Marion County. Kansas: Mark Dupree, Wyandotte County; Maine: Natasha Irving, 6th Prosecutorial District. Maryland: Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore; Aisha Braveboy, PrinceGeorge’s County. Massachusetts: Maura Healey, Attorney General; Andrea Harrington, Berkshire County; Marian Ryan, Middlesex County; Michael Morrissey, Norfolk County; Rachael Rollins, Suffolk County; David Sullivan, Northwestern District.

Also, Michigan: Carol Siemon, Ingham County. Minnesota: Keith Ellison, Attorney General; John Choi, Ramsey County. Mississippi: Shameca Collins, 6th Judicial District; Daniella Shorter, 22nd Judicial District; Jody Owens, Hinds County. Missouri: Wesley Bell, St.Louis County. New Hampshire: Michaela Andruzzi, Carroll County. New Mexico: Raul Torrez, Bernalillo County. New York: Letitia James, Attorney General; Eric Gonzalez, Kings County; Cyrus Vance, NewYork County; Melinda Katz, Queens County; Matthew VanHouten, Tompkins County; Dave Clegg, Ulster County. North Carolina: Satana Deberry, Durham County. Ohio: Zachary Klein, Columbus. Oregon: Ellen Rosenblum, Attorney General; John Hummel, Deschutes County; Mike Schmidt, Multnomah County. Pennsylvania: Josh Shapiro, Attorney General; Jack Stollsteimer, Delaware County; Lawrence Krasner, Philadelphia.

Also, Tennessee: Glenn Funk, Nashville. Texas: Joe Gonzales, Bexar County; John Creuzot, Dallas County; Brian Middleton, FortBend County; Mark Gonzalez, Nueces County. Vermont: Thomas Donovan, Attorney General; Sarah George, Chittenden County. Virginia: Bryan Porter, Alexandria; Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, Arlington County & City of Falls Church; Joseph Platania, Charlottesville; Steve Descano, Fairfax County; Shannon Taylor, Henrico County; Buta Biberaj, Loudoun County; Gregory Underwood, Norfolk; Stephanie Morales, Portsmouth. Washington: Dan Satterberg, King County. Wisconsin: John Chisholm, Milwaukee; Christian Gossett, Winnebago County.

Also, Karl Racine, Attorney General of the District of Columbia (which is not a state).

 

Which Way, Colorado?

COLORADO VOTERS tomorrow will decide via their ballots whether to ban abortions after 22 weeks of a baby’s gestation. Colorado is home to one of the nation’s most notorious late-term abortionists, Warren Hern of Boulder.

Proposition 115, notes Kevin Jones for the Catholic News Agency, is drawing vocal support from a group called Democrats for Life of Colorado, whose vice president Kristin Vail, writes Mr. Jones, “told CNA … ‘When people realize abortion is allowed up to birth for any reason in Colorado, most are shocked. People travel from all over the US and even the world to Colorado to get late-term abortions. … I don’t think people want our state to be known for that. …

“‘Every human has value and deserves to live free from violence,’” Ms. Vail told Mr. Jones. “‘Late-term abortions are especially horrific because at 22 weeks, fetuses can feel pain and can survive outside the womb with medical support.’”

What is more, this Democrats for Life spokesman declared in the CNA interview, “‘Abortion is just oppression and violence redistributed to someone more vulnerable. … Pre-born children are the most vulnerable and voiceless in our society,’” she said, “‘and they are being killed by the thousands every day. Quality health care should be provided for everyone, including both mother and child. When the main objective of a procedure is to end a human life, our healthcare system has failed.’”

Compounding her eloquent expressions of common sense and justice, the CNA report goes on to quote Dr. Tom Perille, a retired physician and president of the Democrats for Life of Colorado, who told Mr. Jones, “‘If a baby born prematurely at 22 weeks enjoys all the rights and privileges of other Colorado citizens and is protected by state/federal law, a fetus in utero at that exact same gestational age should not be able to be legally and cruelly killed. … Most Coloradans,’” he claimed in the CNA story, “‘recognize that a 22-week fetus is a fully-formed, if immature, human being. They are repulsed by those who refer to this vital human being as “pregnancy tissue.”’”

He goes on to insist the proposition enjoys bipartisan support, “saying,” writes Mr. Jones, “nearly 19,000 Democrats signed the petition to place it on the state ballot. … During his time collecting signatures for the petition, [Dr.] Perille said a number of signers identified as pro-choice but thought abortions past 22 weeks were ‘simply too extreme,’” offering support for Life Advocacy’s contention that significant numbers of self-identified “pro-choice” voters actually will support restrictions on abortion – and the candidates who advocate them – if approached with truth and reasonable appeals.

 

Kentucky’s ‘Hospital Privileges’ Law Upheld

KENTUCKY’s LAW REQUIRING ABORTUARIES and other ambulatory surgical centers to secure transfer agreements with licensed hospitals was upheld in mid-October by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The law is designed to secure treatment for medical patients – including abortion customers – in the event of complications, and it also requires such facilities, notes Anne Marie Williams for Live Action, “to maintain ‘a written agreement with a licensed local ambulance service’ to transport those botched abortion patients to the hospital. …

“After one of Kentucky’s two abortion facilities closed in 2017 due to both operating without a license and ‘unsanitary’ conditions causing hazards to patient safety,” writes Ms. Williams, who is a registered nurse, “both the remaining facility (EMW Women’s Surgical Center in Louisville) and Planned Parenthood of Indiana & Kentucky sued the state. The lawsuit alleged that the law imposed ‘a substantial obstacle on women seeking abortions,’ and in 2018 a US federal judge agreed with this assessment,” reports Ms. Williams. “But on Oct. 16, the Appeals Court upheld the original law.”

 

Keeping the Republic

Oct. 27, 2020, Washington Update commentary by Family Research Council president Tony Perkins

            Americans have learned a lot about Amy Coney Barrett in four weeks. They know about the family’s chinchilla, which parent does the laundry and whether the Notre Dame alum hates warm puppies. (She doesn’t.) But they’ve also come to know more important things: She loves her country, its Constitution, and she’ll stand on her faith no matter how many Democrats try to shame her for it. In the end, that’s what Americans will remember. And in this next chapter of the Supreme Court, that’s what they’ll respect.

            Today with Chief Justice Roberts, the mother of seven raised her hand, with another on the Bible, and took the judicial oath of office. After years of dreaming about this moment, she couldn’t have known that her time would come at such a pivotal moment: her country in one of its darkest years, a hurting people on the verge of a bitter election. But maybe Barrett’s confirmation – a symbol of young, honest, humble hope – is what our nation needs: a woman at one of the highest pinnacles of government who’s still inspired by the good of America.

            “I love the Constitution,” Barrett said again at her White House swearing-in, “and the democratic republic it establishes. And I will devote myself to preserving it.”  Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), like a lot of conservatives, watched the President’s nominee hold her own through the process with pride. “Marsha Blackburn and I have had the most wonderful conversations about how great it is that Pres. Trump made this nomination – a strong woman of faith, a mom, [who is] obviously extremely successful and bright in her career. It really does give women something to aspire to.” Maybe now, she said, conservative women will start to realize that they “don’t have to march in lockstep with what the liberals believe … a woman should be. And I think it’s important for us to recognize that we can be conservative, and we can be strong, and we can set that example for others.”

            But unfortunately, while the American people have warmed up to the newest justice, the same can’t be said of Senate Democrats. In a pathetic display, they marched – one by one – to podiums or Twitter accounts and bashed the confirmation. On the floor of the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) even dared to call it “one of the darkest days in the 231-year history of the United States Senate.” Why? Because his chamber confirmed an accomplished woman who wants to uphold the law? What a sad commentary on the state of the Democratic Party.

            This is a Justice whose first speech after her swearing-in was to say that she understood her place. “The confirmation process has made ever clear to me one of the fundamental differences between the federal judiciary and the United States Senate,” Barrett insisted. “It is the job of a Senator to pursue her policy preferences … . It is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences. Federal judges don’t face election. Thus, they have no basis for claiming that their preferences reflect those of the people.” Those sentiments aren’t just a win for Republicans – they’re a win for every American who cares about the Constitution. But then, maybe that’s the problem. Democrats don’t. They’re terrified of the rule of law because it stands in the way of every radical thing they want to accomplish.

            So instead of celebrating the confirmation, they warned of “consequences,” like Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) or uttered profanity like Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI). Or you say outrageous things, like Sen. Schumer, who apparently didn’t sense the irony when he thundered that “generations yet unborn will suffer the consequences of this nomination.” He’s right about one thing. Generations will be affected, to be sure – but under a Justice who reads no right to abortion in the shadows of the Constitution, they will not suffer.

            Piling on, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) even threatened to up-end the lower courts. “Hundreds of judges,” he warned, shouldn’t “be allowed to sit peaceably without our re-examining the process, the results and the consequences.” The bottom line, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) fired back, is “They want to rig American democracy, overturn the results of the last two elections. That’s their agenda. [Joe Biden], of course, [is] going to give in to it. He doesn’t have the guts to say it.”

            Of course, [columnist] David Harsanyi points out, “When you’re under the impression that the system exists solely to facilitate your partisan agenda, something will seem ‘broken’ every time you lose. When Barack Obama was unable to pass his agenda after 2010, the system suffered from ‘dysfunction.’ … But now that Democrats are in the Senate minority, employing the very same tools to slow the President, we must ‘fix’ the Electoral College, the Senate and, most recently, the Supreme Court.”

            As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said, regardless of what the Left does or says, Barrett’s confirmation should have been a happy night for our country. But it’s also a clear reminder of what’s at stake in seven days: a republic and a Constitution if we can keep them.

 

Senate Voting Records

Confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett as Justice of the Supreme Court – Confirmed – Oct. 26, 2020 – 52 to 48 (needing 51) (Democrats in italics; “Independent” marked “I”)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Shelby/AL, Murkowski & Sullivan/AK, McSally/AZ, Boozman & Cotton/AR, Gardner/CO, Rubio & Scott/FL, Loeffler & Perdue/GA, Crapo & Risch/ID, Braun & Young/IN, Ernst & Grassley/IA, Moran & Roberts/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Cassidy & Kennedy/LA, Hyde-Smith & Wicker/MS, Blunt & Hawley/MO, Daines/MT, Fischer & Sasse/NE, Burr & Tillis/NC, Cramer & Hoeven/ND, Portman/OH, Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Rounds & Thune/SD, Alexander & Blackburn/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Lee & Romney/UT, Capito/WV, Johnson/WI, and Barrasso & Enzi/WY.

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Jones/AL, Sinema/AZ, 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; Tester/MT; Cortez-Masto & Rosen/NV; Hassan & Shaheen/NH; Booker & Menendez/NJ; Heinrich & Udall/NM; Gillibrand & Schumer/NY; Brown/OH; Merkley & Wyden/OR; Casey/PA; Reed & Whitehouse/RI; Leahy & Sanders/VT; Kaine & Warner/VA; Cantwell & Murray/WA; Manchin/WV, and Baldwin/WI.

Cloture motion to end debate & bring to a vote the Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett – Adopted – Oct. 26, 2020 – 51 to 48 (Democrats in italics; “Independent” marked “I”)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Shelby/AL, Sullivan/AK, McSally/AZ, Boozman & Cotton/AR, Gardner/CO, Rubio & Scott/FL, Loeffler & Perdue/GA, Crapo & Risch/ID, Braun & Young/IN, Ernst & Grassley/IA, Moran & Roberts/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Cassidy & Kennedy/LA, Hyde-Smith & Wicker/MS, Blunt & Hawley/MO, Daines/MT, Fischer & Sasse/NE, Burr & Tillis/NC, Cramer & Hoeven/ND, Portman/OH, Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Rounds & Thune/SD, Alexander & Blackburn/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Lee & Romney/UT, Capito/WV, Johnson/WI, and Barrasso & Enzi/WY.

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Jones/AL, Murkowski/AK, Sinema/AZ, Feinstein/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; Tester/MT; Cortez-Masto & Rosen/NV; Hassan & Shaheen/NH; Booker & Menendez/NJ; Heinrich & Udall/NM; Gillibrand & Schumer/NY; Brown/OH; Merkley & Wyden/OR; Casey/PA; Reed & Whitehouse/RI; Leahy & Sanders/VT; Kaine & Warner/VA; Cantwell & Murray/WA; Manchin/WV, and Baldwin/WI.

Not voting: Harris/CA.

Procedural motion to Proceed to Consider the Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett – Adopted – Oct. 25, 2020 – 51 to 46 (Democrats in italics; “Independent” marked “I”)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Shelby/AL, Sullivan/AK, McSally/AZ, Boozman & Cotton/AR, Gardner/CO, Rubio & Scott/FL, Loeffler & Perdue/GA, Crapo & Risch/ID, Braun & Young/IN, Ernst & Grassley/IA, Moran & Roberts/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Cassidy & Kennedy/LA, Hyde-Smith & Wicker/MS, Blunt & Hawley/MO, Daines/MT, Fischer & Sasse/NE, Burr & Tillis/NC, Cramer & Hoeven/ND, Portman/OH, Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Rounds & Thune/SD, Alexander & Blackburn/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Lee & Romney/UT, Capito/WV, Johnson/WI, and Barrasso & Enzi/WY.

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Murkowski/AK, Feinstein/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; Tester/MT; Cortez-Masto & Rosen/NV; Hassan & Shaheen/NH; Booker & Menendez/NJ; Heinrich & Udall/NM; Gillibrand & Schumer/NY; Brown/OH; Merkley & Wyden/OR; Casey/PA; Reed & Whitehouse/RI; Leahy & Sanders/VT; Kaine & Warner/VA; Cantwell & Murray/WA; Manchin/WV, and Baldwin/WI.

Not voting: Jones/AL, Sinema/AZ and Harris/CA.

Procedural motions (2) to Table Motion to Indefinitely Postpone the Barrett Nomination & to Table Motion to Recommit the Barrett Nomination to Committee – Defeated on Identical Roll Calls – Oct. 23, 2020 – 53 to 44 (Democrats in italics; “Independent” marked “I”)

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

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

Not voting: Jones/AL, Sinema/AZ and Harris/CA.