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Pro-Life Update The upcoming elections in November have called into focus some interesting stories as groups and individuals try to ensure that their concerns will be addressed by those elected. Before adjourning for pre-election campaigning, Senator Bill Frist attempted to push the already-passed Child Custody Protection Act through the US Senate to President Bush’s desk. Unfortunately, the Senate was three votes short of the 60 votes needed for a cloture vote. In the pro-abortion movement, Ms. magazine will be submitting a petition signed by thousands of women who have undergone abortions to the White House, members of Congress, and state legislators. A new CNN poll shows that 45% of Americans support banning all abortions except those necessary to save the mother’s life. The pro-abortion movement is having a difficult time claiming that they represent the majority of Americans as the Culture of Life continues to build momentum.
Please read this issue of the Pro-Life Update carefully to understand some of the challenges we now face and how you—an educated Pro-Lifer—can advance the Culture of Life. Please share this information with your family, friends, and church congregations. Make copies. Spread the news.
Child Custody Protection Act Dies in Senate On July 25, the Child Custody Protection Act (S. 403) passed by a vote of 65-34 in the U.S. Senate. The bill had already passed through the U.S. House of Representatives, although with slightly different language. The Democratic caucus then blocked the bill from going to a conference committee. This legislation would have prohibited anyone other than a parent from transporting a minor girl across a state line to undergo an abortion when doing so would circumvent a parental involvement law.
On September 26, the U.S. House of Representatives looked at the Senate-passed version of the bill and added a provision to require an abortionist in any state to notify one parent before performing an abortion on a minor from another state (with certain exceptions). The amendment passed through the House by a vote of 264-153 and was returned to the Senate under the title “Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act” (CIANA).
Just hours before Congress adjourned for pre-election campaigning, the Senate voted whether to remove the final procedural obstacle to S. 403, which would send the bill to President Bush for his signature. Although 14 Democrats voted in favor of S. 403 on July 25, only 6 Democrats voted in favor of CIANA. As National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) explained, only 57 senators voted in favor of this legislation, which is three votes short of the 60 required under Senate rules to break through the procedural roadblock erected by the Senate Democratic leadership.
"Only six out of 45 Senate Democrats voted to require a parent to be notified before an abortion is performed on a young daughter in some other state," commented NRLC’s Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, while noting that the bill had exceptions for cases involving abuse, medical emergency, and judicial waiver of notification. "We commend Majority Leader Bill Frist for fighting to the end to free this legislation from the grip of a Senate minority, a minority that has preserved the ability of profiteering abortionists to keep parents in the dark."
Ms. Magazine Helps Women Tout Abortions The fall issue of Ms. magazine (published by the Feminist Majority Foundation) features a cover story entitled “We Had Abortions.” The article lists thousands of women (including some celebrities) who have chosen abortion and support the pro-choice movement. Those who signed the petition include Ms. founder Gloria Steinem, comedian Carol Leifer, and actresses Kathy Najimy and Amy Brenneman, but most are not famous names.
When Ms. was first published in 1972, the magazine included a manifesto signed by 53 women (many of whom were famous) declaring that they had undergone abortions even though abortion was illegal at the time. According to the new Ms. article:
They signed to save lives and to spare other women the pain of socially imposed guilt. Their purpose was “to repeal archaic and inhuman laws.” They recognized that because of the “social stigma still wrongly attached to abortion” many would not be able to sign publicly. But they invited all women to sign—“to help eliminate the stigma.”
The article claims that the stigma still exists, and so this petition is needed to help women from feeling isolated in their decision to terminate the lives of their unborn children.
Ms. clearly states that this petition is necessary right now because of the upcoming elections. They worry about the South Dakota bill that would ban most abortions and about the 17 states that have pre-Roe v. Wade legislation. Such pre-Roe legislation in these 17 states would ban abortions if Roe v. Wade were eventually overturned. If the Culture of Life were not gaining momentum and succeeding, Ms. and cohorts would not be resorting to such tactics.
A recent CNN poll confirms this appraisal: released in September, the poll showed that 45% of Americans would support a state law banning all abortions except those necessary to save the life of the mother (while 51% did not support the ban). Even more interesting, the same poll revealed how many Americans think that abortion should be legal under any circumstances (24%), legal only under certain circumstances (50%), or illegal in all circumstances (24%). Past polls with more direct questions have found that those who think abortion should be legal only sometimes means that they support abortion only in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. These “exceptions” only account for about 7% of all abortions. Thus, this CNN poll essentially states that 74% of Americans think abortion should be illegal at least 93% of the time. The culture of death is clearly losing ground.
The Pro-Life movement still has much work to ensure that all people throughout the world are welcomed into Life and respected. If you would like any additional information on the topics discussed above, please send me a note or log onto www.TexasRightToLife.com. If you ever have questions about any Pro-Life issues, please be sure to let me know. Yours for Life, Dr. Joseph M. Graham President |
