Life Advocacy Briefing

The Battle Is On for ‘Hyde’

REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA) HAS FILED HR-2234 to repeal the Hyde Amendment and overtly force taxpayers to underwrite Medicaid abortions, targeting low-income Americans for destruction of their future generations. The bill has 142 co-sponsors and is companion to a Senate bill announced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), but the Duckworth version does not yet appear in the Congressional Record’s online listing of filed legislation as of our deadline.

The two left-wing lawmakers conferenced with media by telephone on March 25 to boast about their initiative. They call their bills “the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance” a/k/a EACH Act. Note their misleading use of the term “health insurance” to describe legislation which actually deals with welfare subsidies.

“‘This isn’t about what side you’re on in the abortion debate,’” Sen. Duckworth opined in the conference call with reporters, quoted by Huffington Post writer Alanna Vagianos. “‘It’s about equality and opportunity plain and simple. … Whatever you think about the procedure, we should all agree on what’s legal for wealthy Americans should not be so inaccessible for Americans of color and low-income Americans.’”

The Huffington Post reporter notes, “Pres. Joe Biden has expressed his support for repealing the Hyde Amendment, giving abortion rights advocates hope that the policy could be reversed under the new Administration.”

Also throwing in their two cents on the conference call were Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, formerly known as the National Abortion Rights Action League. The co-sponsors of the House bill are listed at the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing.

State-Level ‘Hyde’ Wins in Court

AN ATTEMPT BY THE ABORTION CARTEL TO OVERTURN Pennsylvania’s state-level version of the Hyde Amendment – banning state funds for abortion – was rebuffed March 26 by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, backing the 1982 law by a 6-1 ruling.

The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by several Planned Parenthood affiliates and a smattering of other abortuaries, though the law had been upheld previously by the state’s Supreme Court in 1985. The court in late March, reports Catholic News Agency, ruled “that it is bound” by that decision and also “that operators of abortion clinics lack legal standing to challenge the law through claiming the constitutional rights of low-income women seeking an abortion are violated by the funding restrictions.”

Hey! S.B.A.! Knock It Off!

A GROUP OF 25 U.S. SENATORS – including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – has sent a letter to the Small Business Administration seeking an investigation of the payment of millions of taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood affiliates under the excuse of Wuhan-flu relief intended for small businesses. It is the fourth such letter sent from Members of Congress to the SBA in the last 10 months, according to a Live Action report by Nancy Flanders.

“SBA rules and guidances surrounding COVID relief funding state,” notes the report, “that businesses must be small, with no more than 500 employees, in order to qualify for the loans (which are actually grants that don’t need to be paid back).”

Planned Parenthood, the Senators’ letter points out, quoted by Ms. Flanders, “is ‘a national organization with central control over its affiliates, which has nearly $2 billion in assets and over 16,000 employees nationwide.’”

The SBA apparently made some attempt – after the abortion behemoth’s bonus came to public attention – to get Planned Parenthood’s affiliates to return the money, but, reports Live Action, “the abortion corporation has continued to accept additional money through the latest COVID relief bill. In this most recent letter,” Ms. Flanders reports, “the Senators mention just 38 of those Planned Parenthood affiliates, noting that seven of them did return the funding; however, two others actually applied for and received a second round of funding totaling a combined $3.6 million.”

The Live Action report quotes a section of the letter: “‘It is unconscionable that SBA continues to approve [paycheck protection] loans made to organizations which are clearly ineligible for funding. This is unacceptable, not only because SBA, like other agencies, must be a faithful and responsible steward of taxpayer dollars but also because continuing to make funds available for Planned Parenthood affiliates is in direct violation of the law.

“‘We urge that the SBA promptly open an investigation,’” urges the Senators’ letter, “‘into how these loans were made in clear violation of the application affiliation rules and if Planned Parenthood, relevant lenders or staff at the SBA knowingly violate the law,’” urging “‘appropriate legal action be taken if so.’”

Signers of the letter, in addition to Sen. McConnell, are GOP Senators John Boozman & Tom Cotton (AR), Marco Rubio & Rick Scott (FL), James Risch (ID), Mike Braun & Todd Young (IN), Joni Ernst (IA), Roger Marshall & Jerry Moran (KS), Bill Cassidy & John Kennedy (LA), Roger Wicker (MS), Steve Daines (MT), Ben Sasse (NE), Thom Tillis (NC), John Hoeven (ND), Rob Portman (OH), Tim Scott (SC), Mike Rounds & John Thune (SD), Marsha Blackburn (TN) and John Barrasso & Cynthia Lummis (WY).

Stateside

• THE KENTUCKY LEGISLATURE has placed on the statewide 2022 ballot a proposed state constitutional amendment which reads, according to National Right to Life News Today editor Dave Andrusko: “‘To protect human life, nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.’” As a constitutional amendment proposal, HB-91 bypasses Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and goes directly to a vote of the people. Notes Mr. Andrusko: “In numerous states, abortion advocates have sued to overturn pro-life laws, and their respective [state-level] supreme courts have ‘found’ a right to abortion in their state constitutions. … A number of states have passed constitutional amendments to protect their pro-life laws from such court decisions.”

• ARKANSAS GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R) HAS SIGNED a bill amending the state’s existing ultrasound law to require abortion shops to “‘display the ultrasound images so that the pregnant woman many view them,’ describe the unborn baby’s development – including the dimensions of the unborn child – as well as tell the [mother] the number of unborn children seen in the ultrasound,” reports National Right to Life News Today editor Dave Andrusko. His report quotes NRL’s director of state legislation, Ingrid Duran: “‘With the governor’s signature, five states now require that the ultrasound screen be displayed within [the aborting mother’s] line of sight so she may view her ultrasound if she wants to look. This is different than the other state laws that require that the mother be offered a chance to see the ultrasound image.’”

• THE RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE for Arkansas medical providers has been signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), “allowing doctors to refuse to treat someone because of religious or moral objections,” reports Associated Press (AP) writer Andrew DeMillo. “The measure,” he notes, “says healthcare workers and institutions have the right to not participate in non-emergency treatments that violate their conscience.” The law is set to take effect, he writes, “late this summer.” The state’s chamber of commerce joined the ACLU and the so-called Human Rights Campaign in opposing the law’s passage.

• INDIANA’s BILL TO REQUIRE ABORTIONISTS to inform chemical abortion customers that the deathblow can be reversed midway through the process has cleared a State Senate committee after having passed the State House by 67 to 27. More than 2,000 babies have been saved to date by abortion pill reversal, according to Heartbeat International as reported by Dave Andrusko in National Right to Life News Today. The NRLNT story quotes the board chairman of the American Assn. of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Dr. Christina Francis, who asked the committee, “‘Why would we want women to live with the regret of an abortion if they don’t have to?’” She further assured the panel, “‘Abortion pill reversal therapy is, in fact, safe. Out of the women who have been treated using the official protocol, there is no increased risk of side effects or birth defects.’”

• SIMILAR LEGISLATION IS MOVING IN WEST VIRGINIA, having cleared the State House by a vote of 83 to 15; seven Democrats joined the GOP majority, according to a Live Action report by Bridget Handy. “Since the abortion pill was FDA-approved in the US in 2000,” she notes, “nearly four million children have been killed with the drug, and at least 24 mothers have died after taking it.” The West Virginia bill “mandates,” writes Ms. Handy, “that women seeking the abortion pill are to be informed, ‘If you change your mind, it may be possible to avoid, cease or even to stop the intended effects of a chemical abortion utilizing mifepristone if the second pill has not been taken. Please consult with a healthcare provider.’” And the proposal requires the state Health & Human Resources Dept. to “create physical handouts,” writes Ms. Handy, “to provide women considering the abortion pill with information on Abortion Pill Reversal.” Suggested GOP Rep. Tom Fast, notes Ms. Handy, “‘It speaks to the other person in the equation. In these situations,’” he said, “let’s not forget there are two people.’”

• WYOMING LAWMAKERS ARE ADVANCING a bill to outlaw abortions motivated by a disability diagnosis of the targeted child or for discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin or ancestry. The State Senate’s committee on Labor, Health & Social Services has already cleared the bill for full Senate consideration, soon after it passed the State House.

• THE WYOMING SENATE HAS PASSED 22-to-7 a proposal that, according to Tom Coulter of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, quoted by National Right to Life News Today editor Dave Andrusko, “‘would prohibit the use of several drugs, including mifepristone and misoprostol, that are commonly used for early-stage abortion.’” Mifepristone is also known as RU-486; misoprostol is sold under the name Cytotec, a drug which was developed for other purposes but has been used in conjunction with the abortion drug as chemical abortion’s second stage, in which the dead baby is expelled.

• WYOMING LAWMAKER ARE ALSO ADVANCING legislation to bar state or federal funds from being disbursed in the state for student insurance plans “‘at any public Wyoming university or community college that cover an abortion procedure,’ according to Catherine Wheeler of Wyoming Public Media, notes Dave Andrusko in National Right to Life News Today. “‘And,’” she continued, “‘it would not allow state funds given to the public colleges or university to go towards elective abortion procedures.’” The bill has advanced through the State House for consideration in the State Senate.

Persistent Commitment to Fundamental Rights

April 1, 2021, Washington Update commentary by Family Research Council president Tony Perkins

            The State Dept. launched its 45^th human rights report Tuesday – but after Secy. Anthony Blinken’s latest comments, no one is quite sure what “right” we’re actually talking about. Under Biden, the Administration has been pretty clear that they aren’t interested in the Constitution’s definitions or even moral law. They want to go back to cloaking their social activism in “freedom.” And destroying the State Dept.’s Commission on Unalienable Rights was only step number one.

            “There is no hierarchy that makes some rights more important than others,” Blinken argued. “Past unbalanced statements that suggest such a hierarchy, including those offered by a recently disbanded State Dept. advisory committee, do not represent a guiding document for this Administration. At my confirmation hearing, I promised the Biden-Harris Administration would repudiate those unbalanced views. We do so decisively today.”

            Unbalanced? Is that what Joe Biden’s Administration thinks about hundreds of years of Biblical, moral and legal consensus? Former Secretary Mike Pompeo could only imagine. “It was sad to hear,” he said on Washington Watch, “that the work of the commission that I had put together [with people] from every major religion, people from across the political spectrum [had been abolished].” The whole point of that project, he said, was “understanding human rights. We are each made in the image of God and there are a certain set of rights that come with that. And in the American tradition, our founders talked about that and thought an awful lot about that … , but it comes back to these fundamental rights that we each have – because, in fact, we are endowed by our Creator with them and not from some government. And now, to watch this Administration declare that the government can, in fact, create rights or destroy rights, and that these are political creations, not things that are inherent in the traditions of our country and in the nature of humanity… .”

            After eight years of Barack Obama abusing the term “rights” and slapping that term on things like abortion or LGBT extremism, Pompeo’s desire was to get back down to the bedrock of human rights, the foundation. What are those universal human rights that can’t be taken away [by] government?

            As discouraging (and expected) as this week’s news from Blinken was, Pompeo pointed out that, regardless, “The State Dept. didn’t take away any of our rights yesterday. They simply repudiated the central understanding of the American tradition of human rights … .” Now, that’s a dangerous proposition,” he said, “to suggest somehow that government can grant a set of rights for all of humanity, because we know different nations will come to different conclusions.” Even inside the United States, people come to different conclusions. But no matter what the Biden Administration does, “they can shelve [our report], they can deep-six it, but the work has been done. It’s out there. We can use it as a guide point …” even if this State Dept. does not.

            Look, Pompeo reminded everyone, this was inevitable. “Even before [our commission] had written its first order, held its first meeting, it was attacked by the progressive radical Left as threatening to them. I don’t know what’s threatening about a historical review of the foundational underpinning of the human rights tradition in the United States of America. I would have thought that [this would have been taken] seriously. It would have been welcomed by the human rights establishment. But in fact, it was not.”

            And why not? Because they have their favorite causes and priorities that they want to reward that are deeply disconnected from the central understandings of the United States of America. “You talk about reproductive rights. There was no administration in history that supported women’s health the way that ours did. And there was no administration in history that supported the rights of the unborn with the same seriousness.” This Administration is headed down a completely different path. “They’re clearing the deck so they can advance their priorities, which are not rooted in fundamental freedoms and fundamental rights.”

            At the end of the day, it’s disheartening. But Mike’s message to Americans who care about these deeply held beliefs and freedoms is: Don’t be discouraged. “I think Churchill had it right in the end. When we’ve exhausted all the other possibilities, the United States gets it right. And I am confident that faith leaders across the world, faith leaders all across America, will return our nation to the fundamental understandings that our founders had. And these ideas of protection of the unborn, these ideas about religious freedom, the central understanding of human beings being created in the image of God – and therefore having these inherent rights – [will be] central to the way we think about our country. We will prevail. We will be successful in the United States, will continue to be the most exceptional nation in the history of civilization.”

House Sponsors of HR-2234 – ‘Hyde’ Repeal

           Democratic Representatives Gallego & Grijalva/AZ; Barragan, Bass, Bera, Brownley, Carbajal, Cardenas, Chu, DeSaulnier, Gomez, Huffman, Jacobs, Khanna, Levin, Lieu, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Napolitano, Panetta, Porter, Matsui, McNerney, Peters, Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Takano, Thompson, Torres & Vargas/CA; Crow, DeGette & Neguse/CO; DeLauro, Hayes & Himes/CT; Blunt-Rochester/DE; Castor, Crist, Deutch, Frankel, Hastings*, Lawson, Wasserman-Schultz & Wilson/FL; Johnson, McBath & Williams/GA; Case & Kahele/HI; Casten, D.Davis, Foster, Garcia, Quigley, Newman, Schakowsky, Schneider & Underwood/IL; Carson/IN; Pingree/ME; Brown, Raskin & Trone/MD; Auchincloss, Clark, Keating, McGovern, Moulton, Pressley & Trahan/MA; Dingell, Kildee, Lawrence, Levin, Stevens & Tlaib/MI; McCollum, Omar & Phillips/MN; Bush & Cleaver/MO;

            Also Democratic Representatives Titus/NV; Kuster/NH; Malinowski, Palone, Payne, Sherrill, Sires & Watson-Coleman/NJ; Leger-Fernandez/NM; Clarke, Espaillat, Higgins, Jones, C.Maloney, S.Maloney, Meeks, Meng, Morelle, Nadler, Ocasio-Cortez, Tonko, Torres & Velazquez/NY; Adams, Manning, Price & Ross/NC; Beatty, Kaptur & Ryan/OH; Blumenauer, Bonamici & DeFazio/OR; Dean, Evans, Scanlon & Wild/PA; Cicilline/RI; Cohen/TN; Castro, Fletcher, Garcia, Johnson & Veasey/TX; Welch/VT; Beyer, Connolly & Wexton/VA; DelBene, Jayapal, Kilmer, Larsen, Schrier, Smith & Strickland/WA; Moore & Pocan/WI;

*Rep. Hastings passed away after signing on. Also listed is Eleanor Holmes-Norton/DC, but she is a Delegate, not an elected Representative; House rules permit her to enlist as a co-sponsor of legislation but do not permit her to cast a vote on the measure.