“Broken Washington Process” Contributes to Concerns of Pro-Life Leaders

“We are told that the Republican Leadership fought hard for conscience rights and for that I am grateful,” said Tom McClusky, March for Life Action Vice President of Government Affairs. “However, because of the closed door process, the exclusion of all but a handful of elected officials and the absence of any acknowledgment of this terrible ethical dilemma from Leadership, California churches will continue to be forced to pay for abortions through their own insurance, a violation of federal law. With this spending bill, Congress shoulders the responsibility alongside the Obama Administration for this gross violation of our First Amendment rights. Ironically, the text of this bill came out on the 224th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.”

“Moreover the ultimate problem is that the budgetary process is broken,” Mr. McClusky added. “The most important requirement for our legislators is to implement a structured order to fund the government, which has not been accomplished for over 20 years. And this breakdown is the responsibility of both the White House and Congress, regardless of party control. When Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) accepted the speaker’s gavel, he made a vow to return to regular order, in which the Congress runs by deliberation rather than fiat and lawmakers have more control over amending and shaping legislation. We look forward to working with Speaker Ryan and Members of Congress when they return in 2016 in his efforts to bring order to this current chaos.”

The March for Life in Washington, D.C., began as a small demonstration on January 22, 1974, the first anniversary of the now-infamous Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton and rapidly grew to be the largest pro-life event in the world. The peaceful demonstration that has followed on this somber anniversary every year since is a witness to the truth concerning the greatest human rights violation of our time, abortion.

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