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Pro-Life State of the Union: Looking Back and Forward

 

Tonight, Senators, Representatives, and other distinguished guests will gather in the halls of Congress to hear President Trump deliver his first State of the Union Address.

Earlier today, March for Life President Jeanne Mancini had an op-ed published on the “Pro-Life State of the Union” for Real Clear Politics.

>>>> Click HERE to read the op-ed. In the op-ed, Jeanne writes:

“Just over a week ago, the president made history when he addressed an audience of over 100,000 pro-life Americans via satellite at the 45th annual March for Life. As he noted in his remarks, people from across the nation flooded the streets of Washington, D.C., united by their love, joy and hope for “one beautiful cause: to build a society where life is celebrated, protected, and cherished.” 

>>>> Watch President Trump’s full March for Life remarks.

We’ve seen a great many pro-life victories in the past year, and we are thankful for an Administration and the Members of Congress who stand for life.

It was an honor to have so many of them with us at the 2018 March for Life!

Among those pro-life Members of Congress who joined us this year, we were honored to have Speaker of the House Paul Ryan address the crowds at the March for Life. His remarks also touched on the “pro-life state of the Union.”

“Looking out on this crowd, I can see there are people here of all ages, from all walks of life, but the young people here is what is so inspiring because it tells me this is a movement that is on the rise.

And do you know why the pro-life movement is on the rise? Because truth is on our side. Life begins at conception….

Most importantly, the pro-life movement is on the rise because we have love on our side. We believe every person is worthy of love and dignity. That is why the pro-life movement is on the rise.”

>>>> Watch a recap of Speaker Ryan’s March for Life remarks.

While we can look back on the past year of many pro-life accomplishments, we must also look forward and what we can accomplish this year.

Will you join us in taking action each month to end abortion?

As Jeanne concludes in her op-ed, “We grieve the loss of 60 million Americans whose lives have been ended by abortion since it was legalized in 1973, but we also have great hope for ending this human rights abuse in the future and restoring a culture of life in the United States.”

Thank you for joining with us to work towards a permanent pro-life Union.

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Senator Tim Scott & House GOP Conference Chair Cathy McMorris-Rodgers to Lead Congressional Delegation in March for Life

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 2015		 CONTACT: Ryan Hughes
Shirley & Banister Public Affairs
703-739-5920/800-536-5920
RHughes@SBPublicAffairs.com

Members will Honor Every Life as a Gift in Annual Pro-Life Event

Washington, D.C.—The March for Life Education and Defense Fund announced today that House GOP Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA), Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Representative Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), and Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) will lead the congressional delegation as featured speakers at the March for Life on January 22, 2014 during the annual pro-life event.  They will have the opportunity to share their touching stories and experiences with the global pro-life movement.

“These remarkable congressional leaders are joining our cause to help advocate for the protection of the unborn, and they strongly believe that every life is a gift,” said Jeanne Monahan-Mancini, President of March for Life Education and Defense Fund. “Their commitment to this cause is crucial in passing laws to protect lives in this country.”

On the exact day of the march, the house is set to vote on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, or HR 36, first introduced by Representative Trent Franks and Representative Marsha Blackburn, which will put an end to abortion after 20 weeks, or five months, based on the child’s ability to feel pain.

“This vote will give us even more reason to rally on the National Mall with the hundreds of thousands and subsequently march to the Supreme Court in celebration of life. We’re hopeful that this is a sign of more pro-life legislation in the future.”

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, legalized abortion on demand.

Jeanne Monahan-Mancini, President of March for Life Education and Defense Fund, is available for interviews. For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Ryan Hughes at RHughes@SBPublicAffairs.com or (703) 739-5920.

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114th Congress: The Brave Need to Be Bold

 

One fine tradition that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) started a few years ago was opening each Congress with a bipartisan, multi-denominational prayer service. The theme of the service this year (chosen by the official House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick Conroy, S.J.) was “Building Community Toward a Common Purpose.”

The service included readings from Proverbs (2:1-10), Bhagavad-Gita (XVIII 57-58) and from the Gospel of Mark (12:28-34).  The readings focused on service and were all tied together by Rev. Conroy as he asked the Members of Congress gathered to pray for their colleagues as they work together.

Freshman PhotoOne issue in need of such coalition work is the issue of life.  Facing an overtly hostile media some pro-lifers are afraid that Congress will not take the steps necessary to challenge the most pro-abortion President of our lifetime, Barack Obama. Starting in his original campaign, President Obama has been bold in the case of abortion, ending with the passage of one of the most anti-life pieces of legislation in generations, his health care law commonly known as Obamacare.  As for the pro-abortion Democratic Leadership, they have supported legislation, misnamed, the “Women’s Health Protection Act”, which would nullify every and any advance for the cause of life.

Facing such boldness for the cause of abortion, the pro-lifers in charge of Congress need to have the same boldness.  This is a priority first and foremost for moral reasons, but also for political reasons – as the nation is more pro-life than pro-abortion.  For years, Congress has fought to maintain the status quo and has been losing.  It is long past time to take the initiative on popular and needed pro-life legislation.  A good start would be the following:

  • In the House, passing the Federal Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which provides protection nationwide for unborn children who have the capacity to experience pain while being aborted, a capacity defined in the bill as existing by 20 weeks fetal age.
  • Also in the House, passing the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, which would clearly and permanently prohibit all taxpayer dollars from being used to cover abortion, including the indirect funding that occurs through subsidies to insurance purchasers.
  • Passing the Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, which would require every insurance plan established by Obamacare to clearly indicate whether or not it covers abortion.
  • Protecting current pro-life provisions (also called riders) and adding new ones to end of year spending bills. Every year, pro-life protections such as the Hyde Amendment, are included in end of year Appropriations bills. Under President Obama’s Administration,  new threats to life and issues of conscience have grown by incredible bounds.  Congress needs to use the power of the purse to turn back this President’s support of the death industry known as abortion.

One of the top priorities for this Congress should be to return the Congressional Appropriations process to regular order.  It has been nearly a decade since Congress has done its very basic job, appropriating funds to pay for the workings of the federal government.  Instead Congress has repeatedly passed large, unreadable, unworkable Omnibuses or continuing resolutions, which does little to contain inappropriate spending curbing pro-abortion, taxpayer funded, outreach by the federal government.

All the above should just be a start, being done in the first year, if not hundred days.  Despite the U.S. Senate being controlled by Republicans, it is not controlled by a pro-life majority, so groups working on legislation in the 114th Congress will have a lot of work ahead of them in passing some of these initiatives – admittedly some of these bills might even take multiple Congresses to enact.  However, without boldness now on the issue of life, the current Congress might not deserve to be given the chance in future Congresses.

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Transparent Trap: Abortion in Obamacare

 

Yesterday, Republican Leadership in the House of Representatives introduced their massive end of year spending bill, called by some a “CROmnibus.”  The bill is a disappointment in that it doesn’t give teeth to any pro-life issues that need immediate attention, such as states like California forcing Christian entities to pay for abortions.  However, it does offer instructions to the Obama Administration on issues of transparency in regards to abortion within the health law commonly known as Obamacare.

>>>>> Watch the March for Life Google Hangout with Pro-Life Caucus Chairman, Congressman Chris Smith, Are You Subsidizing Abortion Coverage?

This legislation is a prime opportunity to draw attention to the taxpayer-funded abortion coverage in the ACA; specifically, the lack of transparency regarding abortion coverage.  It has become evident that it is very difficult for consumers seeking exchange plans to identify which, if any plans, on their state exchange exclude abortion. This is vital information for pro-life consumers in the 27 states that have not passed laws to exclude abortion coverage in their state exchange.  Since there is a mandatory monthly abortion surcharge included in the premiums for any plan that includes elective abortion, pro-life consumers will want to identify plans that exclude abortion.  However, the exchange websites do not indicate whether abortion coverage is included in each plan and the pricing information does not specify when the price includes the abortion surcharge.

The CROmnibus includes the following language concerning Obamacare abortion transparency provision:

  1. 81, Division G Joint Explanatory Statement:

Transparency in Health Plans.-The agreement directs the Secretary to provide

additional clarification to qualified health plans, based upon relevant and related

GAO findings, to ensure greater consistency and full transparency of coverage

options included in health insurance plans prior to plan purchase in the

marketplace enrollment process. The agreement requests a timeline for such

clarifying guidance to be submitted to the House and Senate Committees on

Appropriations within 30 days after enactment of this act.

If the CROmnibus passes this week, it will likely be months (if ever) before the Obama Administration actually complies with the request.  However, thanks to the work of the Charlotte Lozier Institute and Family Research Council, consumers don’t have to wait as long.  Last month, the groups launched a new website to expose which health insurance plans on the Obamacare exchanges cover and do not cover elective abortion for the 2015 enrollment period.

obamacare abortionThe website, ObamacareAbortion.com, is a joint effort between the two groups. Researchers have examined new plan documents, contacted insurance carriers and the exchanges seeking plan information.  They also reference the 2014 Government Accountability Office report that provided a list of 1,036 plans that covered abortion on demand and were eligible for federal tax subsidies in 2014. This new online tool will aid Americans who want to make fully informed healthcare decisions and avoid inadvertently purchasing a plan covering abortion on demand.  Be sure to check it out.

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Real Pro-life Victories Happened on the State Level

 

Republicans will have full control of at least 29 state legislatures, the party’s largest total since 1928, perhaps earlier. Republicans also will hold at least 32 governorships, including newly won offices in traditionally Democratic Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts.

How important is this to those in Washington, D.C.?  The National Council of State Legislatures points out that the state legislature is where a high number of Federal legislators cut their teeth:

Half of the congressional freshman class will bring with them state legislative experience when the 114th Congress begins in mid-January. Tuesday’s results saw 29 current or former state legislators elected to the House of Representatives and six newly elected senators with backgrounds serving in their respective state capitals. While a number of elections around the country are either too close to call, not yet official, or face runoffs, the upcoming Congress will consist of 219 and 45 members in the House and Senate, respectively, with state legislative credentials, an increase over the previous two election cycles. When the dust settles, about half of the members in the 114th Congress will have served in state legislatures.

NCLS also points out that it was good election for Republicans, as they took the majority in 11 legislative chambers previously held by Democrats. Those chambers were:

  • Colorado Senate
  • Maine Senate
  • Minnesota House
  • Nevada Assembly
  • Nevada Senate
  • New Hampshire House
  • New York Senate
  • New Mexico House
  • Washington Senate
  • West Virginia House.
  • West Virginia Senate (after Democratic Senator Daniel Hall switched his party affiliation to Republican).

Factoring in all of those changes, here are the bottom line numbers (the Nebraska unicameral Legislature is nonpartisan):

  • Legislatures: 30 R, 11 D and 8 split
  • Chambers: 68 R, 30 D
  • Governors: 31 R, 18 D and 1 undecided (Alaska)
  • State governments: 23 R, 7 D, 18 divided and 1 undecided (Alaska)

It appears that Republicans will have a net gain of close to 350 seats and control over 4,100 of the nation’s 7,383 legislative seats. That is their highest number of legislators since 1920. Republicans gained seats in every region of the country and in all but about a dozen legislative chambers that were up this year.

This will likely open doors to more pro-life legislation in states where one chamber or both were controlled by pro-abortion politicians.

On ballot initiatives it was a mixed bag with the personhood movement failing in North Dakota and Colorado with amendments to grant the unborn constitutional rights.

However, in Tennessee voters approved a ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to say that nothing in it protects the right to an abortion or the funding of an abortion. The measure distinguished the right to privacy from the right to an abortion. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, AP said the measure was approved by a vote margin of 54 percent to 46 percent the amendment was a response to a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that said abortion was protected by the state constitution. The amendment was brought before the legislature four months after that decision, but it took nearly 14 years to become law because of political opposition and the state’s lengthy referendum process.

Because of the pro-life laws in surrounding states, Tennessee had become an “abortion destination” spot. Almost 19 percent of the women getting abortions in Tennessee were from out of state, according to the Tennessee Department of Health, in order to avoid pro-life laws like parental consent, in adjacent states.

More than $4 million in advertising for and against an abortion measure had flooded airwaves and mailboxes in Tennessee since the start of October, with opponents outstripping supporters by nearly a 3-1 ratio.

Republican Beth Harwell, speaker of the Tennessee House, said she is backing a trio of abortion bills that include:

  • A mandatory waiting period before a woman seeking an abortion can obtain one.
  • Inspection requirements for all facilities where abortions are performed.
  • Mandatory counseling — or “informed consent” — be provided to a woman before an abortion.