Life Advocacy Briefing

Where’s CIANA?

THOUGH WE WERE GLADDENED to see House passage of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as one of the first acts of the new Congress, we are anxious to see action on another vital piece of pro-life legislation, a bill which has been filed but not acted upon in recent sessions but which is particularly relevant in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling.

That June, 2022, ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade, laid the groundwork for a patchwork quilt of varying laws, which, we have already seen, highlights the need for Congress to enact the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA).

The purpose of this proposal, which was filed in 2021 by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) with 47 House co-sponsors and by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) with 19 co-sponsors, is to protect minor girls and their families from those who lure girls in trouble across state lines for abortions. It does not block such travel, but it does require the abortionist to notify the girl’s parent/s before any action is taken against their developing grandchild.

With growing numbers of states outlawing abortion under Dobbs, abortion-fanatic politicians and abortion outfits in nearby states are stepping up their cross-border marketing, with some even deploying mobile abortion units along their borders to lure business from Life-respecting states.

Congress needs urgently to address this foray into interstate abortion commerce, and the parental notification – better yet, consent – approach would be a good start. Certainly, the legislation is needed now more than ever. We hope we will see it filed soon. Readers may wish to contact Rep. Johnson and Sen. Rubio and ask them to reintroduce their legislation. [Capitol switchboard: 1-202/224-2131]

Abortion Avalanche Gathers Momentum

IT WAS NOT ENOUGH, apparently, for the Biden Regime to allow abortionists to supply chemical abortion pills to abortion-minded mothers for poisoning their developing babies without even having to meet with a so-called doctor.

Now the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), reports Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews, has “declared that a provision of a 150-year-old law … does not mean what it plainly says.” The referenced law is the Comstock Act, which, notes Mr. Freiburger, “makes it illegal for the US Postal Service [USPS] to deliver any ‘article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion.’” Pretty clear, eh?

“According to OLC’s ‘logic,’” writes Mr. Freiburger, “abortion pills may be freely mailed, delivered and received ‘where the sender lacks the intent that the recipient of the drugs will use them unlawfully.’ And because ‘there are manifold ways in which recipients in every state may use these drugs, including to produce an abortion, without violating state law,’ the ‘mere mailing of such drugs to a particular jurisdiction is an insufficient basis for concluding that the sender intends them to be used unlawfully.’ Never mind that the entire point of mailing abortion drugs is to get around state pro-life laws in the name of abortion ‘access.’

“On top of being lethal to children,” declares Mr. Freiburger, “turning USPS into an abortion dispensary is as dangerous to women as it is to legal sanity.” And it is clearly illegal under the specific terms of the Comstock Act. If the Dept. of Justice does not exist to enforce the written law, what, indeed, is its purpose?

This abridgement of the plain terms of the statutory law – by both the Justice Dept. and, presumably, the USPS – calls for attention by investigatory bodies of the US House as well as legal action by states whose laws are being flouted by the most radical abortion regime in US history.

State AGs Confront Biden FDA

TWENTY-TWO STATES’ ATTORNEYS GENERAL HAVE URGED the Biden Regime’s Food & Drug Administration (FDA) “demanding an end,” writes Joseph Summers for LifeSiteNews, “to the agency’s new abortion pill rules allowing women to obtain abortion pills over the counter. …

“‘The FDA’s decision to abandon commonsense restrictions on remotely prescribing and administering abortion-inducing drugs is both illegal and dangerous,’ the letter states,” notes Mr. Summers. “‘In direct contravention of longstanding FDA practice and Congressional mandate, the FDA’s rollback of important safety restrictions ignores both women’s health and straightforward federal statutes. We urge you to reverse your decision.’

“Early this month,” reports LifeSiteNews, “the FDA updated its website to reflect new guidelines on abortion pill access; they now allow retail pharmacies to carry mifepristone, which, used alongside misoprostol, causes the deaths of unborn babies at early stages of development. …

“‘Until recently,’” the letter reads, reports Mr. Summers, “‘the FDA adhered to the judgment that [long-standing] requirements – which prohibited remotely prescribing mifepristone – are necessary to mitigate the serious health risks to women who take the drug. …

“‘Most importantly, the FDA has ignored its responsibility to protect health and safety by prioritizing a reckless pro-abortion policy over women’s health,’” reads the letter in the LifeSiteNews report. “‘Though there are risks to a woman of using these drugs at any point in pregnancy, abortion-inducing drug are riskiest when used later in pregnancy,’ the letter continues,” Mr. Summers notes.  “‘This means that accurately determining the date of pregnancy is critical for women’s safety. And that determination will be accurate only if made in-person via ultrasound … Of course, your policy enthusiastically endangers the lives of unborn children who may be even older and more developed than could be known without an in-person examination.’” 

The letter signers among the states’ attorneys general are: Steve Marshall (AL), Treg Taylor (AK), Tim Griffin (AR), Ashley Moody (FL), Chris Carr (GA), Raul Labrador (ID), Todd Rokita (IN), Brenna Byrd (IA), Daniel Cameron (KY), Jeff Landry (LA), Lynn Fitch (MS), Andrew Bailey (MO), Austin Knudsen (MT), Mike Hilgers (NE), Dave Yost (OH), Alan Wilson (SC), Marty Jackley (SD), Jonathan Skrmetti (TN), Ken Paxton (TX), Sean Reyes (UT), Patrick Morrissey (WV) and Bridget Hill (WY).

Welcome, Sen. Ricketts

WITH THE RESIGNATION OF U.S. SEN. BEN SASSE (NE) to become president of the University of Florida, just-retired Gov. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) has been appointed to succeed him. The appointment was made by Gov. Ricketts’s successor, GOP Gov. Jim Pillen, who, reports Ben Johnson in The Washington Stand, “noted he sought an appointee with a servant’s heart. …

“Pro-life advocates nationwide celebrated the appointment,” writes Mr. Johnson. “‘Pete Ricketts has proven himself as a pro-life champion, and we look forward to working with him in his new role,’ said SBA Pro-Life America in a statement,” reports Mr. Johnson, who went on to quote Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): “‘Fantastic news.’” And, according to The Washington Stand commentary, “Both former Vice Pres. Mike Pence (R) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) predicted Ricketts will continue to fight for ‘conservative values in the US Senate!’” He is slated to take the oath of office today, Jan. 23, and will face a special election in November, 2024; if he prevails then, he will serve just two more years until the end of the Sasse term, then presumably run for his own six-year term.

While governor, notes Mr. Johnson, now-Sen. “Ricketts signed bills protecting unborn babies from gruesome dismemberment abortions in 2020, defunding Planned Parenthood from the state budget in 2018 and requiring women give informed consent to abortion by knowing the facts of fetal development. That 2017 law also,” writes Mr. Johnson, “requires abortionists to tell abortion-minded women that it is possible to reverse a medication abortion after taking mifepristone [RU-486].” 

The commentary quotes Sen. Ricketts as governor, when he appealed to his Nebraska constituents, “‘I ask you to join me in praying for the end of abortion in the United States.’ … He also appealed for pro-life Nebraskans to ‘consider volunteering your time or resources to help the expectant parents and young families in your community’ at a pro-life pregnancy resource center. ‘Let’s rally around our moms and dads to provide them with a strong network of support on the journey of parenthood.’” Amen!

Stateside

• THE IDAHO SUPREME COURT HAS RULED the state constitution, reports Emily Mangiaracina for LifeSiteNews, “does not implicitly contain a ‘right’ to abortion. The 3-2 court decision denied the request of Planned Parenthood branches and others to block Idaho’s Total Abortion Ban, 6-Week Ban and a civil enforcement measure against abortion, arguing that the state has a ‘legitimate interest in protecting prenatal fetal life in all stages of development.’ … Writing the majority opinion,” reports Ms. Mangiaracina, “Justice Robyn Brody dismissed the petitioners’ argument that the right to abortion is implicit in the Idaho constitution. ‘The relevant history and traditions of Idaho show abortion was viewed as an immoral act and treated as a crime,’ [Justice] Brody pointed out. ‘Thus, we cannot conclude the framers and adopters of the Inalienable Rights Clause intended to implicitly protect abortion as a fundamental right.’”

• SOUTH CAROLINA’s SUPREME COURT HAS STRUCK DOWN the state’s Fetal Heartbeat Act, which, writes Emily Mangiaracina for LifeSiteNews, “banned abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, at about six weeks gestation. … Justice Kaye Hearn wrote on behalf of the 3-2 State Supreme Court majority that ‘Six weeks is, quite simply, not a reasonable period of time’ for a woman to know she is pregnant and make the decision to have an abortion. Hearn framed the issue,” notes Ms. Mangiaracina, “in terms of limiting a ‘right to privacy’ and not a ‘right to life.’ … Gov. Henry McMaster [R] has since vowed efforts to work with the state legislature to fight the court’s ruling. ‘Our State Supreme Court,’” he said, quoted by LifeSiteNews, “‘has found a right in our constitution which was never intended by the people of South Carolina. With this opinion, the Court has clearly exceeded its authority. The people have spoken through their elected representatives multiple times on this issue.’”

Taking the Atrocity Global

Jan. 12, 2023, Center for Family & Human Rights (C-Fam) commentary by Rebecca Oas, PhD

             The Biden Administration released a new strategy to promote global women’s economic empowerment, which directs the US government to “expand equitable access” to “sexual and reproductive health care,” which is understood to include abortion.

             Former President Donald Trump made international empowerment for women a high priority of his administration, and his daughter Ivanka spearheaded an initiative to support women’s entrepreneurship and access to financial opportunities around the world. This project was criticized by abortion activists, because it focused solely on economic issues and not on other issues, such as health, where abortion groups might gain an entry point and source of government funding.

             The Biden Administration removed the White House website dedicated to the Trump-era Women’s Global Development & Prosperity Initiative and is now promoting the government’s “first ever” strategy on women’s economic empowerment overseas. In contrast to the former initiative, it contains repeated references to “reproductive health” services including family planning, framing them as prerequisites for women’s economic participation.

             The strategy also defines its intended beneficiaries as including “transgender women and girls” and directs the US government to promote same-sex “marriage” overseas. “Those who wish to have their families recognized should be able to do so,” it says, arguing that legal recognition of same-sex unions … “bestows credibility, confers tangible benefits and rights, and supports full social inclusion.”

             This new plan is intended to operate in concert with other government strategy documents, such as the USAID gender policy that will soon be released in its final form. Under Pres. Trump, the policy was updated to remove references to ambiguous or euphemistic language that is used to promote abortion, and to clearly prioritize equality between men and women. The Biden Administration moved quickly to replace it with a draft policy that promoted a nonbinary view of gender and other controversial elements.

             Common to all the Biden Administration’s strategy documents is an emphasis on using every issue – such as preventing violence or empowering women economically – as a vehicle to promote radical social change on issues like gender and abortion. These policies are then carried out in countries around the world by funneling US funding to implementing organizations that share the Biden Administration’s social agenda.

             The US recently launched an update to an initiative aimed at preventing and responding to gender-based violence in humanitarian settings, called “Safe from the Start Revisioned.” The earlier version of “Safe from the Start,” launched by the Democratic Obama Administration, sent funding to several UN agencies as well as abortion-promoting organizations. The “revisioned” iteration prioritizes “consistent and targeted funding” to approaches that support “sexual and reproductive health programming.” Rather than focusing on ending impunity for violence and providing practical measures to keep women and girls safe, it calls for research into “addressing intersecting forms of oppression” including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and changing social norms.

             Along with this revamped initiative, the Biden Administration launched an updated strategy on addressing gender-based violence internationally, which directs the government to align its programs and policies with UN standards that explicitly refer to abortion as part of the minimum response to sexual violence in humanitarian settings. US law continues* to forbid the use of taxpayer funds to provide or promote abortion in foreign countries.

*Life Advocacy Briefing editor’s note: Readers are asked to read again the item in this Briefing entitled “Abortion Avalanche Gathers Momentum” to evaluate whether US law, under the Biden Regime, is worth the paper it is printed on.

House Voting Records

HCRes-3 – Condemning the recent attacks on pro-life facilities, groups, and churches – Jan. 11, 2023 (Adopted 222-209) [Democrats in italics]

Voting Yes (pro-Life): Aderholt, Carl, Moore, Palmer, Rogers, Strong/AL; Biggs, Ciscomani, Crane, Gosar, Lesko, Schweikert/AZ; Crawford, Hill, Westerman, Womack/AR; Calvert, Duarte, M.Garcia, Issa, Kiley, Kim, LaMalfa, Speaker McCarthy, McClintock, Obernolte, Steel, Valadao/CA; Boebert, Buck, Lamborn/CO; Bean, Bilirakis, Cammack, Diaz-Balart, Donalds, Dunn, Franklin, Gaetz, Gimenez, Lee, Luna, Mast, Mills, Posey, Rutherford, Salazar, Steube, Waltz, Webster/FL; Allen, Carter, Clyde, Collins, Ferguson, Greene, Loudermilk, McCormick, A.Scott/GA; Fulcher, Simpson/ID; Bost, LaHood, Miller/IL; Baird, Banks, Bucshon, Houchin, Pence, Spartz, Yakym/IN; Feenstra, Hinson, Miller-Meeks, Nunn/IA; Estes, LaTurner, Mann/KS; Barr, Comer, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers/KY; Graves, Higgins, Johnson, Letlow, Scalise/LA; Harris/MD; Bergman, Huizenga, James, McClain, Moolenaar, Walberg/MI; Emmer, Finstad, Fischbach, Stauber/MN; Ezell, Guest, Kelly/MS; Alford, Burlison, Graves, Luetkemeyer, Smith, Wagner/MO; Rosendale, Zinke/MT; Bacon, Flood, Smith/NE; Amodei/NV; Kean, Smith, VanDrew/NJ; D’Esposito, Garbarino, LaLota, Langworthy, Lawler, Malliotakis, Molinaro, Santos, Stefanik, Tenney, Williams/NY; Bishop, Edwards, Foxx, Hudson, McHenry, Murphy, Rouzer/NC; Armstrong/ND; Balderson, Carey, Davidson, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Latta, Miller, Turner, Wenstrup/OH; Bice, Brecheen, Cole, Hern, Lucas/OK; Bentz, Chavez-DeRemer/OR; Fitzpatrick, Houlahan, Joyce, Kelly, Meuser, Perry, Reschenthaler, Smucker, Thompson/PA; Duncan, Fry, Mace, Norman, Timmons, Wilson/SC; Johnson/SD; Burchett, DesJarlais, Fleischmann, Green, Harshbarger, Kustoff, Ogles, Rose/TN; Arrington, Babin, Burgess, Carter, Cloud, Crenshaw, DeLaCruz, Ellzey, Fallon, T.Gonzales, V.Gonzalez, Gooden, Granger, Jackson, Luttrell, McCaul, Moran, Nehls, Pfluger, Roy, Self, Sessions, VanDuyne, Weber/TX; Curtis, Moore, Owens, Stewart/UT; Cline, Good, Griffith, Kiggans, Wittman/VA; Newhouse, Perez, Rodgers/WA; Miller, Mooney/WV; Fitzgerald, Gallagher, Grothman, Steil, Tiffany, VanOrden/WI; Hageman/WY.

Voting No (anti-Life): Sewell/AL; Peltola/AK; Gallego, Grijalva, Stanton/AZ; Aguilar, Barragan, Bera, Brownley, Carbajal, Cardenas, Chu, Correa, Costa, DeSaulnier, Eshoo, Garamendi, R.Garcia, Gomez, Harder, Huffman, Jacobs, Kamlager-Dove, Khanna, Lee, Levin, Lieu, Lofgren, Matsui, Mullin, Napolitano, Panetta, Pelosi, Peters, Porter, Ruiz, Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Swalwell, Takano, Thompson, Torres, Vargas, Waters/CA; Caraveo, Crow, DeGette, Neguse, Pettersen/CO; Courtney, DeLauro, Hayes, Himes, Larson/CT; Blunt-Rochester/DE; Castor, Cherfilus-McCormick, Frankel, Frost, Moskowitz, Soto, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson/FL; Bishop, Johnson, McBath, D.Scott, Williams/GA; Case, Tokuda/HI; Budzinski, Casten, Davis, Foster, Garcia, Jackson, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi, Quigley, Ramirez, Schakowsky, Schneider, Sorensen, Underwood/IL; Carson, Mrvan/IN; Davids/KS; McGarvey/KY; Carter/LA; Golden, Pingree/ME; Hoyer, Ivey, Mfume, Raskin, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes, Trone/MD; Auchincloss, Clark, Keating, Lynch, McGovern, Moulton, Neal, Pressley, Trahan/MA; Dingell, Kildee, Scholten, Slotkin, Stevens, Thanedar, Tlaib/MI; Craig, McCollum, Omar, Phillips/MN; Thompson/MS; Bush, Cleaver/MO; Horsford, Lee, Titus/NV; Kuster, Pappas/NH; Gottheimer, Kim, Menendez, Norcross, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Sherrill, Watson-Coleman/NJ; Leger-Fernandez, Stansbury, Vasquez/NM; Bowman, Clarke, Espaillat, Goldman, Higgins, Jeffries, Meeks, Meng, Morelle, Nadler, Ocasio-Cortez, Ryan, Tonko, Torres, Velazquez/NY; Adams, Davis, Foushee, Jackson, Manning, Nickel, Ross/NC; Beatty, Brown, Kaptur, Landsman, Sykes/OH; Blumenauer, Bonamici, Hoyle, Salinas/OR; Boyle, Cartwright, Dean, Deluzio, Evans, Lee, Scanlon, Wild/PA; Cicilline, Magaziner/RI; Clyburn/SC; Cohen/TN; Allred, Casar, Castro, Crockett, Cuellar, Doggett, Escobar, Fletcher, Garcia, Green, Jackson-Lee, Veasey/TX; Balint/VT; Beyer, Connolly, Scott, Spanberger, Wexton/VA; DelBene, Jayapal, Kilmer, Larsen, Schrier, Smith, Strickland/WA; Moore, Pocan/WI.

Not Voting: Buchanan/FL; Hunt, Williams/TX.