Life Advocacy Briefing

Down in Flames

WE EXPECT OUR READERS KNOW BY NOW that the US Senate defeated last Wednesday the Left’s celebrated bill to legalize abortion across America as a matter of federal law. (We publish the voting record at the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing.) The bill’s sole sponsor was Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

We think our readers will be interested in the euphemistic gobbledygook by which S-4132 is now defined in the Congressional Record: “A bill to protect a person’s ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a healthcare provider’s ability to provide abortion services.” Note the reference to “a person.” (We continue to find it amazing that the abortion cartel has adopted a genderless lingo and intentionally, persistently dropped its insistence that it is advocating for “women.” Now-former Planned Parenthood CEO Leana Wen lost her job, as we recall, over her refusal to drop terminology related to “pregnant women” vs. “pregnant persons.”)

The proposal, in establishing federal law authorizing abortion, sought to invalidate every state or local law limiting abortion in any respect. We’ll list a few of those cartel-detested protections here. Readers who would like to read the bill for themselves are invited to check it out on the Internet at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/4132/text.

The bill would have expanded the “professionals” protected by the bill to include a “certified nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner and physician assistant,” a tactic recently undertaken by the abortion lobby in a few states but one which is resisted in many others.

It expressly authorizes “telemed” abortions, in which healthcare professionals prescribe and dispense abortion pills without examining the abortion-seeker.

It bars states from requiring informed consent and ultrasound examinations to determine the baby’s age or for any other pregnancy-related purposes. S-4132 bars waiting periods and state protections against discriminatory abortions. The list goes on and on, abolishing seemingly every pro-life reform ever enacted at the state level.

Though the news media, in the days leading to the vote, breathlessly speculated on whether enough Republicans would vote for the measure to achieve its passage (requiring 60 to clear cloture, but the newsmongers did not typically mention that), in the end, every Republican voted against the by-now-hysterical abortion lobby this time, and even one Democrat – West Virginia’s Joe Manchin – voted to block S-4132 from coming to an actual vote.

‘Partial-Birth Abortion Is Murder’

A BILL STIFFENING THE FEDERAL PENALTIES FOR PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION has been filed by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) under the title “Partial-Birth Abortion Is Murder Act.” HR-7604 has been sent to the House Committee on Judiciary, where no action is expected in this Congress, but it may be a harbinger of actions to be taken in the next Congress, whose Members will be chosen by voters this November.

The bill strikes the penalty section in the current federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban and replaces it with the stiffer penalty: “Any physician who, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion and thereby kills a human fetus shall be imprisoned for any term or years or for life (but in no event for less than five years), may in addition be fined under this title, and shall not be eligible for supervised release.”

Current law provides a penalty of unspecified fines and/or imprisonment “not more than two years,” an unintended signal to federal prosecutors that this crime is not serious enough – even when interstate commerce is involved – to warrant prosecution.

We appreciate Rep. Mullin’s revival of the partial-birth abortion issue which, when the killing method was discovered, moved many Americans to question their previous tolerance of legalized abortion. We hope that, if it is one day passed, his proposal will spur federal prosecutors to take up such cases, especially since the abortion industry is currently establishing a network of state-line-crossing abortion lures in anticipation of the now expected overturning of Roe v. Wade. And his proposal can offer a model for those state legislators who believe their own state’s Partial-Birth Abortion Ban penalties are too weak to be an effective deterrent.

America’s policymakers need – now more than ever – to face the reality that abortion kills living human beings and to enact laws that demonstrate determination to end the nightmare.

Discouraging Corporate Complicity

ANTICIPATING ACTION BY THE SUPREME COURT to send abortion law back to the states for a patchwork of policy, several major companies have announced plans to fund employees’ travel to other states to have their babies killed. (Many based in Texas have already initiated such subsidies in response to the Texas Heartbeat Act, which has been drying up the abortion industry in the state since the law took effect last September.) Some of the companies, listed by Jack Bingham in a LifeSiteNews report, include Amazon, Apple, Yelp, Uber and Tesla. Citigroup has been cited in a Live Action report among this collection of corporate abortion subsidizers, and Matt Lamb in his own report for LifeSiteNews, citing journalist Christopher Rufo as source, adds Disney, whose new employee benefit program will not only “help its workers abort their children” but will also “‘support sex change operations for their minor children.’”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has responded to the corporations’ abortion complicity by filing S-4131, the No Tax Breaks for Radical Corporate Activism Act. The bill has been sent to the Committee on Finance and is not expected to see action, but it could sound a warning which could be fulfilled in the next Congress, depending on results from the November election.

Said Sen. Rubio, quoted in the LifeSiteNews report, “‘Our tax code should be pro-family and promote a culture of life. … Instead,’” he said, “‘too often our corporations find loopholes to subsidize the murder of unborn babies or horrific “medical” treatments on kids. My bill,’” he said, “‘would make sure this does not happen.’”

Momentum

• OKLAHOMA GOV. KEVIN STITT (R) on May 3 signed the Oklahoma Heartbeat Act into law; the measure took effect upon his signature. Oklahoma’s Supreme Court immediately rejected a petition from abortionists for a temporary injunction against the law. Quoted by National Right to Life News editor Dave Andrusko, Planned Parenthood released a statement declaring, “‘As a result, until the court makes a further determination, most abortion in Oklahoma is banned, cutting off access for thousands of people who seek abortion care in Oklahoma each year.’” Talk about a cause for cheers! Said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Todd Russ, also quoted by Mr. Andrusko: “‘Combined with other Oklahoma statutes now on the books, it is hoped the practice of abortion will cease in our state for all time. … We will continue our work until that is accomplished.’”

• TENNESSEE GOV. BILL LEE (R) on May 5 signed a bill outlawing distribution of abortion pills by mail and, reports Raymond Wolfe for LifeSiteNews.com, “allow[ing] only certain qualified doctors to administer the drugs. Under the law,” he notes, “a doctor has to examine a woman in person before providing the pills during a return visit and must schedule another follow-up appointment one to two weeks later. The measure bars pharmacists and other non-doctors from giving out abortion drugs.” Civil action is provided for, and the new law authorizes criminal penalties up to $50,000 in fines as a Class E felony.

Planned Parenthood Loses Abortionists in 2 States

PLANNED PARENTHOOD HAS SUSPENDED ABORTIONS in Alabama and Georgia, reports Dave Andrusko in National Right to Life News, “due to what it said were staffing issues at its southeast affiliate.” The NRL News editor cites as source a story by Susan Rinkunas on an Internet website called Jezebel.com.

“‘The organization said the change is temporary,’” reports Ms. Rinkunas, quoted by Mr. Andrusko, “‘but did not say when it would resume care. In the meantime, the clinics are referring people to other providers.’

“According to [Ms.] Rinkunas,” Mr. Andrusko continues, “‘Planned Parenthood did not announce that abortions were halted in these two states – it apparently just canceled people’s appointments without warning. Before the pause in services, Planned Parenthood had at least three clinics that provided abortions in Georgia and two in Alabama. … These announcements still don’t look great,’” concluded Ms. Rinkunas, “‘as the organization claims one of its affiliates is unable to serve individual patients in areas with dwindling access.’”

Need Help?

WE ARE DISINCLINED TO REPORT the incidents of vandalism, violence and intimidation spurred by panic among the abortion cartel and its largely unwitting but passionate partisans. Our readers see news reports of such disgraceful “protests” on broadcasts every night. But we do wish to advise our readers of an offer from Thomas More Society.

The pro-life pro-bono law firm has sent a notice to the out-front instigators of the disturbing invasions of churches and of residential neighborhoods in which public officials such as still-deliberating Justices of the Supreme Court. “The Thomas More Society stands ready,” states the brief news release reporting the notice, “to take legal action to defend the rights of religious believers to the free exercise of their religion as guaranteed by the United States Constitution and federal law.”

Those who are responsible for securing protections for their houses of worship and who wish to contact Thomas More Society may do so by clicking the “Legal Help” button on the webpage: https://thomasmoresociety.org/contact-us.

Promising Upset?

TUESDAY’s PENNSYLVANIA G.O.P. PRIMARY for the seat of retiring US Sen. Pat Toomey (R) promises to be a barnburner, as three of the candidates are bunched within the margin of error, according to polling, as potential winners.

With many in the news media expecting the nomination of persistent frontrunner, television personality Mehmet Oz, his principal opponent Dave McCormick appears – by recent polling – to be starting to fade after “Dr. Oz” was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

But outspoken pro-life conservative Kathy Barnette appeared mid-week last week to be surging, so much so that Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, who is a consistent Trump ally, attacked her during his Wednesday evening program in a fashion that could only remind viewers of far-left talk-show anchors bashing any conservative who dares to file for office.

Pro-life Pennsylvanians appear to have noticed Ms. Barnette’s challenge to Dr. Oz during a recent debate, reported by Clare Marie Merkowsky for LifeSiteNews, who notes that “Dr. Oz … supports abortions in cases of rape, incest and for the ‘health’ of the mother. … ‘I am so very grateful that our nation is now having a very important conversation,’” Kathy Barnette said, quoted by Ms. Merkowsky. “‘I am the byproduct of a rape. My mother was 11 years old when I was conceived, my father was 21. … I was not just a lump of cells; as you can see, I’m still not just a lump of cells.

“‘My life has value, and that was one of the reasons why it was very disturbing when I saw Mehmet Oz running for this particular race, when I’ve seen him on numerous occasions and specifically at the Breakfast Club, saying that my life was nothing more than an acorn with electrical currents,’ [Ms.] Barnette continued. This was in response to an interview with the Breakfast Club in 2019, in which Oz denounced pro-life heartbeat laws and said, ‘If you’re going to define life by a beating heart, then make it a beating heart, not little electrical exchanges in the cell that no one would hear or think about as a heart.’ He then slammed pro-lifers for ‘envisioning a little acorn heart beating in there, and that’s not what’s going on at six weeks.’ …

“During his interview with the Breakfast Club, Oz claimed that life did not necessarily begin at conception since ‘the heart’s not beating.’ He further stated that, while he would not want any of his own children to have abortions, he did not ‘want to interfere with everyone else’s stuff.’”

We publish below a blog analyzing the race, including the Barnette surge. Do we have to say: We’ll be watching Pennsylvania closely on Tuesday!

The Battle for the Toomey Senate Seat

May 10, 2022, LifeSiteNews blog by Doug Mainwaring

             After Pres. Trump made an out-of-character, tone-deaf miscalculation by endorsing Pennsylvania Republican US Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz over pro-life social conservative favorite Kathy Barnette, former Trump Administration Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell followed suit with a tweet and immediately incurred the wrath of the Twitterverse.

             The Pennsylvania Senate primary race is particularly important because it pits an underdog pro-life warrior against others who share neither the pedigree nor promise of fighting on behalf of the dignity of all human life once elected to office.

             Against daunting odds, Barnette’s popularity is now surging in the final stretch of the campaign before next week’s primary elections. Although GOP candidate Oz has reportedly invested more than $11 million of his own money, Barnette is now running neck and neck with Oz, despite being at a massive funding disadvantage, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

             “Kathy Barnette has been outspent 358-to-1 on TV in Pennsylvania’s GOP primary for the Senate,” noted Politico’s Holly Otterbein, who refers to Barnette as an “Ultra-MAGA” longshot. “She hasn’t run for statewide office before. She doesn’t have former President Donald Trump’s endorsement,” observed Otterbein, but Barnette “is surging in the polls anyway in the final weeks of one of the most expensive and closely watched races in the country.”

             Just a week ago, Barnette enjoyed the support of only a little more than 12% of GOP voters; however, in the latest survey of Republican voters in the Keystone State released by the Trafalgar Group on Sunday, Barnette was shown to have the backing of 23.2% of likely voters, with Oz garnering 24.5%. This amounts to a statistical tie and represents a doubling of support in just a few days’ time.

             Just as the Barnette campaign picked up momentum, endangering Mehmet Oz’s lead, Wikipedia has deleted her page. “When they cancel me, they’re canceling you,” tweeted Barnette this morning. “Wikipedia just pulled my page down with a week left to go in the election.

             “No one said this would be easy. They don’t like giving up power,” she said. “They forget that the true power is with the people, though.”

             While Oz has, until recently, publicly supported abortion and only changed his stance as he launched his Republican candidacy, Kathy Barnette has been a tireless, outspoken life-long pro-life advocate.

             “I am the byproduct of rape,” Barnette told LifeSiteNews’s Jim Hale in March. “I am one of those exceptions to some people’s rule, and yet my life has value. I am so very grateful to God that there were adults in the room,” referring to her mother’s family.

             If she prevails in next week’s primary and in November on election day, Barnette will hold several notable distinctions: Pennsylvania’s first-ever female US Senator; only the 10^th woman ever to have served in both the US military and in Congress; and the first black Republican female US Senator in American history. …

             It looks like Pres. Trump and Ambassador Grenell have made a grievous unforced political error in the eyes of those who value the dignity of unborn human life. When Trump threw his support behind Oz at a Greensburg, Pennsylvania, rally on Friday, the crowd greeted his announcement with repeated boos. …

Senate Voting Record

Motion to Proceed to S-4132 – Legalizing Abortion-on-Demand across America via federal law – May 11, 2022 – Failed – 49-51 (Democrats in italics; “Independent” marked “I”)

Voting “no”/pro-Life: Shelby & Tuberville/AL, Murkowski & Sullivan/AK, Boozman & Cotton/AR, Rubio & Scott/FL, Crapo & Risch/ID, Braun & Young/IN, Ernst & Grassley/IA, Marshall & Moran/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, Inhofe & Lankford/OK, Toomey/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Rounds & Thune/SD, Blackburn & Hagerty/TN, Cornyn & Cruz/TX, Lee & Romney/UT, Capito & Manchin/WV, Johnson/WI and Barrasso & Lummis/WY.  

Voting “yes”/anti-Life: Kelly & Sinema/AZ, Feinstein & Padilla/CA, Bennet & Hickenlooper/CO, Blumenthal & Murphy/CT, Carper & Coons/DE, Ossoff & Warnock/GA, Hirono & Schatz/HI, Duckworth & Durbin/IL, 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 & Lujan/NM, Gillibrand & Schumer/NY, Brown/OH, Merkley & Wyden/OR, Casey/PA, Reed & Whitehouse/RI, Leahy & Sanders/VT, Kaine & Warner/VA, Cantwell & Murray/WA and Baldwin/WI.