Life Advocacy Briefing

February 13, 2023

Abortion Radical Clears Committee / The State of the Union – Under Siege
Blocking the Biden Orders? / Fighting Back / Not in My State! / Take It Back!
March for Life Rally Speech / In Case You Missed This / Too Good to Miss

Abortion Radical Clears Committee

THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE last Thursday sent nominations to the full Senate for various federal district and appellate judicial posts, including the nomination of professional abortion advocate Nancy Abudu, named to the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. She has long served America’s left wing through the Southern Poverty Law Center.

We renew our appeal to readers to contact their home-state senators as well as Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mitt Romney (R-UT), urging a “no” vote on the Abudu nomination. [Capitol switchboard: 1-202/224-3121] While you’re making these calls, add “Please vote ‘no’ on Julie Rikelman” to your message; the judicial nomination of this long-time lawyer for the abortion industry appears to be stuck in committee, but she could emerge at any time.

 

The State of the Union – Under Siege

IN THE MIDST OF AN INTERMINABLY LONG STATE OF THE UNION message to the Congress last Tuesday, President Joe Biden (D) deplored the Supreme Court’s action last June in overturning the unAmerican Roe v. Wade abortion decision.  

Though in talking about the nation’s crime wave, he said, reports Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews, “‘we all want … our children to come home safely,’” and even declared “that America is ‘built on an idea’ that ‘all of us – every one of us – is created equal in the image of God’” – even after saying such lofty sentiments, “he defined,” writes Mr. Freiburger, “‘protect all the people’s rights and freedoms’ to mean that ‘Congress must restore the right the Supreme Court took away last year and codify Roe v. Wade to protect every woman’s constitutional right to choose’ abortion.

“‘The Vice President and I are doing everything we can to protect access to reproductive health care and safeguard patient privacy,’ Biden said.” (That much, sadly, is true, though we would not put it in such terms.) “‘But already,’” he said, quoted in the LifeSiteNews report, “‘more than a dozen states are enforcing extreme abortion bans. Make no mistake: If Congress passes a national abortion ban, I will veto it.’” If only they could put him to the test.

 

Blocking the Biden Orders?

REP. ANDREW CLYDE (R-GA) HAS FILED HR-407, along with 91 co-sponsors, to “prohibit the use of federal funds to implement executive order[s] relating to reproductive health services,” as defined in the Congressional Record. The title of the bill is “Protect the UNBORN (Undo the Negligent Biden Orders Right Now) Act,” or simply “Protect the UNBORN Act.” The bill has been referred to the Committees on Energy & Commerce, the Judiciary and Ways & Means.

HR-407 directs: “No head of a federal agency may carry out (1) Executive Order 14076 entitled ‘Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Services’ and issued on July 8, 2022; or (2) Executive Order 14079 entitled ‘Securing Access to Reproductive & Other Healthcare Services’ and issued on Aug. 3, 2022.”

Co-sponsors, as of this writing, are GOP Representatives Aderholt & Moore/AL; Biggs, Gosar & Lesko/AZ; Crawford/AR; LaMalfa/CA; Boebert, Buck & Lamborn/CO; Bilirakis, Cammack, Donalds, Franklin, Gaetz, Mast, Posey, Rutherford, Steube, Waltz & Webster/FL; Allen, Carter, Ferguson, Greene, Loudermilk, McCormick & A.Scott/GA; Bost, LaHood & Miller/IL; Baird & Banks/IN; Feenstra/IA; Estes, LaTurner & Mann/KS; Rogers/KY; Johnson/LA; Harris/MD; Bergman, Huizenga, McClain & Moolenaar/MI; Stauber/MN; Guest & Kelly/MS; Rosendale/MT; Bacon, Flood & Smith/NE; VanDrew/NJ; Langworthy, Stefanik & Tenney/NY; Edwards & Murphy/NC; Bishop/ND; Balderson, Davidson, Johnson, Jordan & Wenstrup/OH; Kelly, Reschenthaler & Thompson/PA; Duncan, Norman & Timmons/SC; Johnson/SD; Fleischmann, Ogles & Rose/TN; Arrington, Babin, Cloud, Ellzey, Fallon, Gooden, Jackson, Nehls, Pfluger, Roy, Self, Weber & Williams/TX; Cline, Good & Wittman/VA; Miller & Mooney/WV.

 

Fighting Back

A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY, GenBioPro, which makes a generic form of the RU-486 abortion drug, has filed a lawsuit against West Virginia, reports Joseph Summers for LifeSiteNews, claiming “that the state’s restrictions on abortion negatively impacted the company’s bottom line and overrides regulations put in place by the FDA.”

Said Attorney Gen. Patrick Morrissey (R) in a statement quoted by Mr. Summers, “‘While it may not sit well with manufacturers of abortion drugs, the US Supreme Court has made it clear that regulating abortion is a state issue. … I will stand strong for the life of the unborn and will not relent in our defense of this clearly constitutional law.’” He said his office was “‘prepared to defend West Virginia’s new abortion law to the fullest.’”

The state enacted a new law last September, notes Mr. Summers, banning “nearly all abortions in the state.” Unfortunately, the new law does allow the abortion killing of babies whose conception results from a sex crime. Still, it will drastically reduce the number of babies killed in their mothers’ wombs within West Virginia.

 

Not in My State!

SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R) HAS CAUTIONED PHARMACISTS in her state, reports Sam Dorman for Live Action, “reminding [them] that they face penalties for dispensing the life-ending drug,” mifepristone (RU-486).

Gov. Noem and South Dakota Atty. Gen. Marty Jackley “argue[d],” writes Mr. Dorman, “that by allowing pharmacists to dispense Mifeprex, they are effectively trying to skirt ‘the pro-life evolution of the law.’ The two [officials] pointed to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which triggered South Dakota’s near-total ban on the practice [of abortion], and the state’s own law prohibiting dispens[ing] of the pill.

“‘This side-stepping on the part of the FDA permits dangerous, at-home abortions without any medical oversight,’ write Noem and Jackley,” writes Mr. Dorman. “‘It also violates state law that makes dispensing this medication for abortions a felony. Chemical abortions remain illegal in South Dakota. … Pharmacies, including chain drug stores, … are subject to felony prosecution under South Dakota law, despite the recent FDA ruling. Their resources should be focused on helping mothers and their babies, both before birth and after.’”

Ominously, the FDA has said in writing, quoted by Mr. Summers, “‘We are coordinating with the Dept. of Justice and others across the government on these legal issues. Any questions regarding pre-emption of state law should be directed to the Dept. of Justice.’”

 

Take It Back!

Jan. 31, 2023, Excerpt from a report by Ben Johnson, editor, The Washington Stand

             A flurry of legislation, executive orders and lawsuits have volleyed back and forth between the Biden Administration, which seeks to protect the abortion industry, and pro-life advocates attempting to protect unborn children and their mothers. As the Biden Administration expanded the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs, 75 pro-life lawmakers have demanded the FDA take pills off the market altogether. As Biden’s executive actions tout expanding the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs as ‘essential to our nation’s health,’ litigators have threatened to take abortionists to state court and issued fresh warnings to corporations thinking of trafficking in life-ending drugs.

             “We call on the FDA to remove mifepristone [RU-486] from the market, or, at minimum, promptly restore and further strengthen the initial basic health and safety requirements for abortion drugs, and cease permitting the mailing and shipping of abortion drugs in violation of federal criminal law,” wrote 75 Members of Congress to the Biden Administration’s Food & Drug Administration commissioner, Robert Califf. The Biden Administration’s new standard “abandons pregnant mothers to suffer alone, without proper medical evaluation or oversight, potentially life-threatening complications, which can include severe bleeding, infection, potential surgical intervention and even death.”

             It also “makes it easier for these drugs to fall into the hands of human traffickers or abusers, who may administer the drugs to pregnant mothers without their knowledge or consent,” wrote the coalition – 23 Senators and 52 US Representatives, led by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) – last Thursday. Ironically, by insisting abortion companies can mail abortion pills, “the FDA is, astonishingly, conditioning certification for pharmacies on their willingness to violate federal criminal law.” This letter comes after 41 Members of Congress chided Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland that the Justice Dept. has “abdicated its Constitutional responsibility to enforce the law,” specifically the Comstock Act, which forbids mailing abortion-inducing drugs. …

             Congressional Republicans more closely reflect the public sentiment on abortion pills. Nearly all young voters – 91% of Gen Z and Gen Y registered voters – support requiring an abortionist to administer an ultrasound to protect mothers from ectopic pregnancies; 93% say abortionists should test women’s blood (Rh) to protect women from future infertility; and 60% say the pills should be given in person to avoid them from falling into the hands of an abuser, according to a poll released this month by Students for Life of America. A previous Knights of Columbus/Marist poll found that 63% of Americans oppose sending abortion-inducing pills through the mail. …

 

March for Life Rally Speech

Speech by Connecticut State Representative Trenee McGee (D) at the Jan. 20, 2023, March for Life rally on the National Mall; transcribed by Life Advocacy Briefing

             Hello, pro-life generation! Millennial to Gen Z!

             To Fanny Lou Hamer and the black women of the movement: Your work to educate our community was not in vain. Your knowledge and insight into the systemically racist abortion industry is being exposed. Your No to Margaret Sanger the day she came to your doors and told you to abort your children will be heard around the world.

             The younger generation of blacks, Latinas, indigenous and women of color are taking our rightful place to expose the mass genocide of our children and the stain of blood across the movement that says it’s standing to protect us. No! You use us as a shield to hide your trauma and tug of war in your own community. You mock impoverished communities all while putting clinics in them. You’ve told me I cannot be black and pro-life because black women need abortions more than anyone. You tell us that we are disproportionately impacted, never giving us our due proportion from the start. You have profited off the fear and pain of women and minors who don’t feel fit to parent. You’ve handed minors abortion pills in silence and told them not to tell their parents. The aches and pains of rape, trafficking and fear of mothering have made you rich.

             I stand here today, and I proclaim Life. I proclaim that future generations will live and not die. That they will be seen as enough to live. I stand in place of the pro-life black women across the globe who are suffering in silence. And we resist the evil strategy to pluck us out like weeds.

             The time is today. And let it be forevermore, that we resolve in our hearts that we are different and yet the same. We bleed the same. Let us not use talking points to justify our arguments but be effective listeners and create whole-life – from the womb to the tomb – solutions. May we make room to hear black women speak and believe them in this movement.

             And as we march toward the prize of life, let us understand that we must march hand-in-hand, that we must march together, because in unity there is strength. So, we must deal with our emotional prejudices and the things that we are committed to in order to not only protect life but sustain life. Because we are going to be different. We are not only pro-life but we care about moms, too. We care about families. We care about education. Pro-life for the whole life! Thank you, everyone!

 

In Case You Missed This

Feb. 7, 2023, LifeSiteNews report by Calvin Freiburger

             In what might signal a change in direction for the embattled party apparatus, the Republican National Committee has adopted a resolution urging Republican candidates to “go on offense” on abortion in the run-up to the 2024 elections.

             The resolution reminds readers that the right to Life is one of America’s foundational principles, that the Republican Party was founded in part to oppose the premiere denial of that right of the era – slavery – and that “protection for the right to life of unborn children” is one of the core planks of the party’s platform.

             “The Republican National Committee urges all Republican pro-life candidates, consultants and other national Republican political action committees to remember this proud heritage, go on offense in the 2024 election cycle and expose the Democrats’ extreme position of supporting abortion-on-demand up until the moment of birth, paid for by the taxpayers, even supporting discriminatory abortions such as gender selection or when the child has been diagnosed with Down syndrome,” the resolution declares.

             “The Republican National Committee urges Republican lawmakers in state legislatures and in Congress to pass the strongest pro-life legislation possible – such as laws that acknowledge the beating hearts and experiences of pain in the unborn – underscoring the new relics of barbarism the Democratic Party represents as we approach the 2024 cycle,” it adds.

             The document is a repudiation of calls to de-emphasize or downplay abortion in the wake of the 2022 midterm elections, with many including former President Donald Trump and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) blaming perceived Republican extremism for the party’s failure to retake the Senate. The midterms were the first major elections to occur after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing direct abortion bans to take effect for the first time in half a century and supercharging concern on both sides of the issue.

             The resolution also directly addresses such claims, arguing that “instead of fighting back and exposing Democratic extremism on abortion, many Republican candidates failed to remind Americans of our proud heritage of challenging slavery, segregation and the forces eroding the family and the sanctity of human life, thereby allowing Democrats to define our longtime position,” the resolution states.

             Evidence suggests that while abortion may have been a marginal boon to Democrat voter turnout, it was neither a major nor insurmountable factor in the midterms. Exit polls vary significantly in how much voters prioritized the issue; five abortion-related ballot initiatives all resulted in pro-abortion outcomes, but most incumbents won re-election regardless of party, and no state that enacted a near-total abortion ban ousted the governor or legislature responsible.

             Other factors to which the midterms results have been attributed include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell withdrawing financial support for certain candidates; Trump redirecting candidate donations to his own organization and his elevation of questionable candidates in GOP primaries; Democrats themselves funding weaker Republicans in primaries; potential election fraud and Democrats’ effective harvesting of early votes and mail ballots; manipulation of swing voters by Big Tech; establishment Republicans failing to offer a compelling contrast to Democrats over the last two years; and the long-term results of left-wing bias in media and education. …

 

Too Good to Miss

Jan. 25, 2023, National Right to Life News report by NRL/N editor Dave Andrusko

             On Jan. 19, US District Court Judge Douglas Rayes refused to block a law [in Arizona] that prohibits abortionists from performing an abortion solely because of an unborn baby’s genetic condition “saying that the overturning of Roe v. Wade nullified that request and no actual harm to providers had yet happened,” Gloria Rebecca Gomes reported. Judge Rayes’ action “reinstates an abortion ban passed in the state in 2021,” News 12 reported. “The law was originally blocked the same year it was passed, but it is no longer blocked after the US Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion in 2022” in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.

             Gomez explained that Judge Rayes “wasn’t convinced” by the plaintiffs’ arguments: “He noted that the harm warned by abortion advocates hasn’t occurred – effectively disqualifying that argument. No provider has yet had the genetic abnormality law used against them, and theoretical harm isn’t something that can be ruled on. A claim brought because a law is vague, he added, is only valid if the law in question trespasses on a constitutional right, and the Dobbs ruling from the High Court means that the constitutional right to receive or perform an abortion no longer exists.

             “‘Plaintiffs’ ability to provide (abortion) care without undue state interference is a battle fought and lost in Dobbs,’ Rayes wrote.”

             Howard Fisher went further in explaining Rayes’s reasoning. “He said lawsuits to enjoin a law from being enforced can be mounted if a vague law results in someone being ‘chilled from engaging in a constitutionally protected activity.’ When he first ruled in 2021, the judge said he concluded that doctors, facing the new law, likely would err on the side of caution and not perform abortions in cases where a patient’s motive might be ambiguous or where outsiders might cite circumstantial evidence to claim a doctor knew the patient had a ‘prohibited motive.’”

             But, Rayes wrote, “Dobbs eliminated the right to elective abortion.”

[Life Advocacy Briefing editor’s note: We find it remarkable and encouraging that Judge Rayes attained his post via nomination by then-President Barack Obama.]