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Apr 05 2019
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The House Makes Unprecedented Moves on Born Alive

By | Blog, News and Events, Planned Parenthood, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

On Tuesday, Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) filed a discharge petition for H.R. 962, the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. A discharge petition is a way to bring a bill to the floor that is otherwise being blocked by the Speaker, if the majority (218) of representatives agree and sign. On every legislative day since the bill’s introduction, Members have asked Speaker Pelosi for a vote on H.R. 962. This has now occurred 29 times.

On the first day, the discharge petition was ready for signatures, 193 representatives signed; this record-setting number is the most representatives to ever sign a discharge petition on the first day. On Wednesday, five additional members joined, bringing the tally to 198 signatures. We only need twenty more signatures to force Speaker Pelosi to put this bill on the floor for a vote. To find out if your representative has signed, please click here.

CWALAC joined representatives on Tuesday outside of the Capitol at a press conference in support of Born Alive and watched from the House gallery as members lined up to sign the discharge petition. We also attended the Virginia March for Life in Richmond on Wednesday, where many of the speakers highlighted the radical statements of Virginia Governor Northam (D) that sparked the Born Alive debate.

Born Alive is about stopping infanticide, not restricting or regulating abortion. We should all agree that once born, a newborn child is a patient and deserves protection. This is a reflection on our humanity. Recent polling shows that 82% of Americans, including 77% of pro-choice Americans, support protections for children born alive after an attempted abortion. This is not at all the radical bill the Democrats are portraying.

Please call your representative today and ask him/her to sign the discharge petition for H.R. 962, the Born Alive Abortion Survivor’s Protection Act. Click here to make that call.

 

Apr 01 2019
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Don’t be fooled ladies — the Equality Act is a threat to all of us

By | Blog, Defense of Family, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

How can people like Ginni Rometty, the first female CEO of IBM, so easily jump on the bandwagon of the so-called Equality Act and fail to see its obvious threats to women?

The Equality Act, which would amend existing federal civil rights laws (including the Civil Rights Act of 1964) to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics, seeks to erase the understood binary definition of sex as male or female, and enshrine a new definition of sex that includes a person’s perception of his or herself – not the actual chromosomal DNA that identifies his or her true sex.  [More …]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was published by Fox News. Click here to read it.

Mar 26 2019
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Abortion is Not an International Right

By | Blog, International, News and Events, Planned Parenthood, Sanctity of Life, United Nations | No Comments

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 63) came to an end this week at the United Nations in New York City. News reports warn that the U.S. seeks to decrease the rights of women and girls by taking away an international “right” to abortion in UN resolutions. Based mainly on propaganda from far-left political interest groups, this information is inaccurate and misleading.

The U.S. has long been a leader in policies and aid supporting the expansion of women’s rights around the world. Under the Trump administration alone, major initiatives have been launched in three sectors where the advancement of female equality is sorely needed increasing economic empowerment and entrepreneurship, increasing diplomatic and security participation and decreasing the technological or “digital divide” of women and girls. Research shows that women and girls face inequalities in all of these areas and initiatives like this can elevate women by targeting the main challenges they face. In addition, these initiatives reflect the strategic objectives of gender empowerment goals.

In contrast, the promotion of a so-called “right to abortion” that dominates liberal narratives at the UN does none of these. … [Read More Online at The Hill]

Mar 26 2019
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Secretary Pompeo Continues to Remove U.S. Taxpayer Funds Used for Abortion Overseas

By | Blog, International, News and Events, Planned Parenthood, Press Releases, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Today, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced further implementation of the Mexico City Policy to protect “more unborn babies around the world than ever before” and enforce President Trump’s commitment to stop U.S. taxpayers from funding abortion overseas.

In January 2017, President Trump’s executive action restored and extended the original 1984 Mexico City Policy to prohibit any organization which promotes or performs abortions in other countries from receiving U.S. global health funds. Today, Sec. Pompeo announced that the U.S. will also no longer fund organizations who subcontract with or provide financial assistance to other organizations in the global abortion industry. In addition, he announced the State Department will enforce the Siljander amendment to the 1982 Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Appropriations Act which prohibits tax dollars from being used to lobby for or against abortion. This announcement will directly reduce funding to the Organization of American States (OAS) in proportion to its expenditures on abortion-related activities.

Penny Nance, President and CEO of Concerned Women for America, and Dr. Shea Garrison, Vice President of International Affairs for CWA, responded to Sec. Pompeo’s announcement:

“Secretary Pompeo’s announcement confirms the proud pro-life stance of this administration and their commitment to ensuring that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to promote or subsidize the killing of unborn children around the world. Today’s announcement closes two gaping backdoor loopholes that organizations continue to use to get around the funding limitations of President Trump’s expansion of the Mexico City Policy.
“The U.S. has shown we can continue to meet the most critical health care needs for women while refusing to pay for the killing of unborn babies. This is consistent with the moral beliefs of most governments around the world and strengthens U.S.-foreign relations. In addition, women’s rights and health care can be better served through more focused assistance to alleviate the main challenges women face around the world — including in maternal health and mortality.
“We are thankful for Sec. Pompeo’s continued actions to implement the administration’s pro-life policies to the broadest extent possible. As Sec. Pompeo said: ‘This is a policy that is designed fundamentally to protect human beings … this is decent, this is right.’ We are proud to stand behind an administration that protects the most vulnerable among us.”

Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee is the legislative arm of Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with members across the country, over 450 Prayer/Action Chapters and Home Teams, 600 trained leaders, and over 30 years of service to our nation. For more information visit www.concernedwomen.org 

Mar 23 2019
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Promoting Fiscally-Responsible Parental Leave Plans

By | Blog, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have put forward an innovative plan for paid parental leave. The CRADLE Act would allow parents to receive up to three months paid parental leave in a fiscally-responsible way. Instead of creating a new entitlement program, as many on the left have suggested, the CRADLE Act is an opt-in program that allows working parents to access Social Security benefits for up to three months and then subsequently postpone the activation of their Social Security benefits by two months for every one month of parental leave taken. This plan has no impact on the Social Security Trust Fund, is budget-neutral, and the benefit would be calculated using the existing Social Security disability formula. There are other safeguards to assure this program would not be used in conjunction with any employer-paid leave program and would only be used in conjunction with a birth or an adoption.   

Paid parental leave proposals like the CRADLE Act give moms and dads the ability to stay at home with their newborns or adopted children during the crucial first few months. The CRADLE Act is one among similar, fiscally responsible, pro-family, conservative plans to address paid family leave. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Missouri), along with Sen. Rubio (R-Florida), proposed legislation last Congress to address paid family leave in a similar fashion and plan on introducing similar plans again this Congress. 

Paid parental leave has many societal and familial benefits, including greater workforce attachment, better child and maternal health outcomes, and increased parental engagement. However, the costs of a government mandate are often far greater than the benefits. Government–mandated leave programs like the liberals’ FAMILY ACT put a strain on businesses, particularly small businesses, and make women of childbearing age less appealing to hire. Additionally, new entitlements irresponsibly pile on to our already crushing national debt. Many businesses know and understand the importance of these benefits to their workforce and offer their employees paid parental leave. For those parents who are not so fortunate, plans like this would bridge the gap without hurting seniors or enacting a new fiscally disastrous entitlement. 

Conservative plans like the Wagner-Rubio and the Ernst-Lee proposals reach a good balance of incorporating fiscal concerns with the benefits of paid parental leave. New parents need new avenues of support, but our nation cannot afford a new government-mandated entitlement program.  

 

Mar 22 2019
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Deep in the Heart of Texas

By | Blog, Defense of Family, Texas | No Comments

For the ninth time during a session of the Texas Legislature, Concerned Women for America of Texas hosted “Dinner with Texas Legislators.”  This year, seventeen Texas legislators participated in the program on Tuesday evening, March 12, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Austin.

Each legislator had a moment at the mic to speak to the gathering about issues important in the current session.  Several spoke of CWA’s current prayer campaign to encourage legislators during the session.

Rep. Bill Zedler, long-time advocate for life and family values in the Texas Legislature, was awarded the 2019 CWA Family Advocate Award.  Mrs. Pat Hanson, who was the South Texas Area Director was commended for many years of service before her retirement. Lastly, Dr. Shea Garrison, Vice President of International Affairs for CWA, was the dinner’s keynote speaker and addressed gender identity issues confronting women and their families in the current culture.

Several young women who are part of Young Women for America’s leadership on Texas college campuses were present. The dinner preceded the subsequent day’s rally at the capitol, where several hundred participated in visiting with legislators about Faith-and-Family issues.

Mar 22 2019
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CWA at the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women

By | Blog, Defense of Family, International, United Nations | No Comments

This week, government delegates and non-governmental organizations from all over the world met in NYC at the United Nations for the 63rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63).

Concerned Women for America (CWA) sponsored a side-event panel on Friday, March 15, with the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam) titled, “Putting Women and Girls Back at the Center of Gender Equality Policies.” The event focused on the importance of promoting the empowerment of women and girls with effective and holistic, culturally appropriate, family-centered measurements.

Our Dr. Shea Garrison, VP of International Affairs at CWA, spoke about “Focused Economic Empowerment” and used her own research and experience training women entrepreneurs around the world to recommend well-rounded strategies and measurements that most effectively empower women and their families.

Also on the panel was Dr. Rebecca Oas from C-Fam, Emilie Kao from the Heritage Foundation, and Sharon Slater from Family Watch International.

Mar 21 2019
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WIN: Trump on College Campuses

By | Blog, YWA | No Comments

CWA CEO Penny Nance with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

President Trump signed an executive order to protect free speech on college campuses today. Because of our Young Women for America chapters and efforts across the country, we were asked to be there when he signed it! Our YWA leaders have been effected by, and watched first-hand, the attack on the First Amendment on college campuses. Because of YOU we have a seat at the table to promote constitutional principles and fight for the future of America. We are thankful for the President’s commitment to ensuring that the rights of every student be protected.

President Trump promised that “agencies will take appropriate steps to ensure that college and university campuses are places of free thought and debate.” The Trump administration believes that “public schools should fulfill their obligation to uphold the First Amendment,” and “schools should be transparent about their speech policies.”

He also discussed information transparency and student loan debt. Read the executive order here.

Mar 15 2019
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Strengthened Debbie Smith Act Introduced in Senate

By | Blog, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

On Thursday, Senator Cornyn (R-Texas) and Senator Feinstein (R-California) introduced the Debbie Smith Act of 2019, a bill that would reauthorize funding aimed at increasing capacity for DNA testing to reduce the rape kit backlog. The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act was first signed into law in 2004 in response to the story of Debbie Smith, a rape victim who only saw justice because of DNA evidence and testing.

Last July, CWALAC CEO and President Penny Nance testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on her experience as an attempted rape victim and why we must work to end the backlog. Unfortunately, after fifteen years since the inception of the Debbie Smith Act and over $1 billion spent, an unknown number of rape kits still sit untested in evidence rooms across the country. Meanwhile, the statute of limitations ticks on with no resolution for victims.

CWALAC partnered with RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) on specific improvements to the Debbie Smith Act, introduced by Sen. Cornyn, that would increase prioritization of rape kit testing and improve accountability in tracking the backlog of sexual assault cases. A recent New York Times piece highlighted Maisha Sudbeck, a rape victim who saw justice years after her assault only because of funds prioritized through programs to clear the backlog. Ms. Sudbeck cited the testing of her rape kit as “a catalyst for hope.”

Not only is testing these kits a crucial step in pursuing justice for victims and possible exoneration for the wrongfully accused, it often shows patterns of assault and can take serial perpetrators off the street. Ms. Sudbeck’s kit showed a hit for a man who had raped at least six other women. This phenomenon is far from uncommon. One study found that about half of the DNA kits tested resulted in hits for serial offenders. In her Senate Judiciary testimony, Penny stated, “We must push ourselves until each sexual assault kit is accounted for and every last one is processed — because every kit represents a brave woman waiting for justice.” CWALAC will continue to work with Congress to ensure this crucial legislation is passed, so that every victim has the chance for justice.

See Penny’s letter to cosponsors.

Mar 08 2019
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Tell President Trump to Protect our Children!

By | Blog, Sanctity of Life, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

Are you frustrated and bothered by what you see on TV? You are not alone. In recent years, Hollywood has taken advantage of their self-regulated TV ratings system and cable TV looks more like HBO than family-friendly programming. Networks advertise their mature and explicit programming during family-friendly shows; these commercials include overtly sexual themes, violence, and foul language. Most advertisers will not run ads during “mature audience” rated programming; therefore, Hollywood has no incentive to rate any program “mature” and, instead, rates things that should be for mature audiences as “TV-14” or acceptable for children over 14 years old to view. There is virtually no “G”-rated TV on prime-time.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for evaluating the TV ratings system and determining whether or not children are adequately protected from violent, foul, and graphic content. Right now, the FCC is accepting comments regarding the TV ratings system and whether or not they are doing their job to protect our children. There is no doubt that Hollywood, with their vast resources, are inundating this system to avoid further regulation. The content on cable TV is shocking, and no industry, especially one as corrupt and worldly as Hollywood, should be able to regulate themselves.

Submit a comment to President Trump today and tell him you are fed up with the graphic content being shown to our children.