Category

Sanctity of Life

Jun 09 2021
0

Endless Frontier Act Gives Us Endless Ethical Concerns

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

Concerned Women for America LAC has been leading the way in opposing the final passage of the Endless Frontier Act, reckless legislation that would allow for your taxpayer dollars to be used to destroy, experiment on, and unethically alter human life.

As staunch defenders of the sanctity of life and believers in Christ, we believe He makes each and every life unique. To alter that life is to go against our Creator. We will never stop advocating for the protection of unborn life and life at every stage of development.On Friday, June 4, we sent a letter to all Republican Senators urging them to stand up for the respect and dignity of life at all stages of development and oppose the passage of this act.

Senators Rick Scott (R-Florida) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) each reposted our letter expressing their support in standing with us for life.

As stated by Penny Nance, “The dignity of human life at every stage of development must be respected and protected. There is nothing in this bill to ensure the U.S. and partners abide by ethical standards that the American people expert with the billions in taxpayer funds going to such activities, especially as the Biden Administration is fueling an all-out assault on long-standing bipartisan prolife protections.”

You can read our full letter to the Senators here.

May 28 2021
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No Hiding from the Hyde Amendment

By | Hyde Amendment, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Appropriations season is upon us. As President Biden unveils his $6 trillion Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposal to Congress, it is time again to protect longstanding prohibitions on the use of federal funds for elective abortions. We currently face an unprecedented threat to the time-honored safeguards of the Hyde Amendment and related provisions.

The Hyde Amendment was introduced in 1976 to stop the flow of federal taxpayer dollars for abortion following the Roe v. Wade decision. Every annual spending bill over the last four decades has included this provision, defending the conscience rights of a strong majority of Americans who would otherwise be forced to pay for the destruction of human life. Additional Hyde-like pro-life amendments have since emerged to apply these critical restrictions to other relevant federal programs, both domestic and international.

Abortion giant Planned Parenthood and its industry allies have tightened their grip on the highest echelons of government power to finance their cause. Yet most Americans agree that the abortion industry should not receive federal funds and that preborn life deserves protection. A recent Marist poll found that 76% of Americans support restrictions on abortions after the first trimester, at the very least. Funding for overseas abortion is opposed by 77% of Americans and even 64% of pro-choice voters. Further, 58% of Americans support the original Hyde Amendment.

Unfortunately, President Biden has abandoned his previous position and promise to defend Hyde, a troubling sign that he is beholden to radical leftist interests rather than the will of the American people. Many in the Democrat majority in Congress have pledged to repeal these life-saving measures, raising the stakes even higher for the battle ahead. If they cannot get their way on Hyde, some have even proposed grant programs to directly fund Planned Parenthood clinics.

In anticipation of the Biden budget request, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee joined dozens of others in the pro-life community in a letter to House and Senate leadership urging them to guarantee inclusion of the Hyde Amendment and related provisions in FY 2022 appropriations. Nearly 2.5 million precious lives have been preserved since Hyde’s inception. We cannot sit idly by while this Administration seeks to open to floodgates and send our hard-earned tax dollars to those preying on the most vulnerable among us. As appropriations season commences, we must hold Congress accountable for holding the line on Hyde.

May 27 2021
0

SBA Administrator Withholds the Truth on Funding to Planned Parenthood

By | Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has obstructed proper Congressional oversight of the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through its refusal to share information on over $90 million in total loans to Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA).

At a recent Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship hearing, Ranking Member Rand Paul demanded answers on the unlawful distribution of funds to PPFA affiliates deemed ineligible for the aid program. SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman dodged the inquiry, failing to recognize the critical need for transparency on the use of precious taxpayer dollars. Under her leadership, the SBA approved at least $17.6 million in additional loans to PPFA, including a maxed-out $10 million loan to Planned Parenthood of Greater New York just before the program exhausted funds in early May 2021. This despite ongoing inquiries regarding $80 million in aid yet to be returned by 38 affiliates. Paul underscored the role of the Hyde Amendment to prevent federal money from going to abortions, thus preserving Americans’ conscience protection rights.

The SBA’s failure to enforce the rules against Planned Parenthood sends a clear message. This Administration will stop at nothing to protect the abortion industry’s survival, even at the expense of our nation’s small, main street businesses who are truly in need.

We stand behind the efforts of Sen. Rand Paul and others to uncover the truth and hold bad actors accountable. Our leaders must not stop until funds are returned, necessary legal action is taken, and the proper controls are instituted to prevent such a scandal from occurring again.

View the full exchange: Dr. Rand Paul Questions SBA Administrator Guzman on Planned Parenthood PPP Loans – May 26, 2021

May 18 2021
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Momentous Pro-Life Case to the U.S. Supreme Court

By | Case Vault, Legal, News and Events, Sanctity of Life, SCOTUS | No Comments

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Explained

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pro-life case out of Mississippi challenging a state law that places strict limits on abortions after 15-weeks. As with every single pro-life case that comes to the Supreme Court, you are about to hear news from the usual suspects in the liberal media that the world is about to end — again! Pay no attention to their hysterics. Here is what you need to know.

As the Supreme Court has said numerous times, states have a legitimate interest in limiting abortion and protecting innocent life. Relying on that premise, Mississippi’s “Gestational Age Act,” enacted in 2018, limits abortions after 15 weeks to the cases of medical emergencies and several fetal abnormalities.

The law was immediately challenged as unconstitutional by abortionists at the Jackson Women’s Health Organization. A federal district court agreed with the abortion clinic, declaring that Supreme Court precedent does not allow states to restrict abortions in this way until a fetus becomes “viable.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the district court’s decision.

Mississippi is now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Court has fortunately granted the review.  Although you will hear the constant drumming of protecting Roe, the limited question before the Court is whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.

The case will be heard in the fall when the justices return from the summer recess. It joins Cameron v. EMW Women’s Surgical Center, another pro-life case that will deal with a more procedural question about the State’s authority to ensure that laws are fully defended in the courts. Dobbs, therefore, becomes the most crucial pro-life case the Court will hear, given that it will deal with the merits of the law, testing the limits of the Court’s dubious abortion jurisprudence.

The scientific advances made since the lies upon which Roe and Casey were built have exposed the lie of abortion. As women peer into the womb, the fact that we are not dealing with a blob of tissue has become apparent. And given that undeniable fact, pro-abortion proponents and sympathetic judges have struggled to come up with a clearly arbitrary, yet credible, artificial line at which to allow abortions.

Most Americans (up to 74%) want to ban second and third-trimester abortions.

Now you may be thinking, “What difference does that make? This is a legal case, and polls shouldn’t matter to the Court,” and you would be right. Traditionally, the Court would look at the law and the facts of the case and render a decision on the law, giving the legislature ample room to operate and make policy determinations within constitutional limits.

Nevertheless, in the case of Roe—in the abortion context—the Court has so overstepped its role that all it has and will ever have (until it corrects itself) are questions of policy. Now they are legislating about viability and weighing and reweighing the state’s interests in protecting life and protecting women and children. It is embarrassing. Can there be any more compelling interest than these?

But when it comes to abortion, the Supreme Court has had to employ all kinds of gimmicks and smokescreens in order to ignore its traditional role and interpretative procedures to preserve the abortion fiction. Justice Anthony Kennedy admitted as much in the Carhart decision writing:

“It is true this longstanding maxim of statutory interpretation has, in the past, fallen by the wayside when the Court confronted a statute regulating abortion. The Court at times employed an antagonistic ‘canon of construction under which in cases involving abortion, a permissible reading of a statute [was] to be avoided at all costs.’”

What has the other side so bent out of shape this time around is that they are not sure they have enough liberal legal wizards to perform their abortion alchemy to save their all-encompassing pro-abortion standard, where even the most reasonable restrictions on abortion are unconstitutional.

There is indeed much hope for most Americans who support such restrictions, given the gains we have made at the U.S. Supreme Court. But far from a turn to the extreme right as you are sure to read about in the papers, all we will hopefully witness (God willing) is a return to the basic tenant of truth in law. A return to scientific reasonableness. A return to biological reality.

And that will be a monumental step indeed.

May 17 2021
1

Concerned Women Ready to Fight for Life

By | News and Events, Press Releases, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2021

Contact:
Natalie Panettiere
202-266-4816, npanettiere@cwfa.org

Washington, D.C. – Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC), the largest public policy organization for women in the nation, had this to say about the news that the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—a case challenging a Mississippi law that limits abortions after 15 weeks, except in certain circumstances.

“As the hundreds of thousands of women I represent have made clear throughout the years, we will never stop fighting for the most vulnerable among us—for babies in the womb and mothers in crisis pregnancies. That is why this law in Mississippi was passed. It is a good law that protects women and children. It seeks to recognize the humanity and dignity of unborn children while protecting the health of mothers.

“We are thrilled that the Supreme Court gets another shot at correcting the nonsensical and unscientific structure established under Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. It is way past time for the Roe house of cards to come down. Women deserve better.

“Concerned Women for America members are ready! We cherish the opportunity to have this debate inside and outside the courtroom.”

###

Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) is the legislation and advocacy arm of Concerned Women for America. Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with a rich 40-year history of helping our members across the country bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy.

May 10 2021
0

Penny Nance on Cyber-attacks, Critical Race Theory, and the Impact on American families

By | CEO, Defense of Family, National Sovereignty, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Penny Nance, our President and CEO, joined America’s Voice Live to discuss the news of the day, including the cyber-attack on the Colonial pipeline, Critical Race Theory, and how all these factors together break down the American family. Her message to America: “We were all created in God’s image and have intrinsic value, let’s get to that, and then we can talk about the beauty of this country and what we are all given. We are all given, at this time in history, equal opportunity. Let’s help all of us get to a win.”

Watch Penny’s interview here.

May 06 2021
0

Breaking: Biden SBA Approves $10 Million PPP Loan to New York Planned Parenthood

By | Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Time-sensitive action item at the end of this article.

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York has just been awarded a $10 million loan in the final hours of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which Congress passed to provide struggling small businesses a way to keep their employees during the pandemic shutdown. THIS IS NOTHING SHORT OF A SCANDAL.

Last week, Biden’s Small Business Administration (SBA) announced it ran out of funding for the PPP and stopped accepting new applications. That same day, a $10 million loan was approved for Planned Parenthood Greater New York. You may recall that Congress passed restrictions to the PPP that were supposed to disqualify Planned Parenthood affiliates from being eligible.

But the Biden Administration doesn’t care about playing by the rules. Fully funding Planned Parenthood is a top priority for President Biden and Democrat abortion advocates in Congress.

In addition to sending millions of dollars out the door through the Paycheck Protection Program, Biden is on a fast track to rewrite the rules for the Title X family planning program.

Two years ago, the Trump Administration succeeded in restoring Title X to its stated purpose of protecting human life and prohibiting federal funds from going to places providing abortion counseling, referrals, or services.  As a result, Planned Parenthood was shut out of the program.

Now, Biden is working to revoke the 2019 rules in order to RE-fund Planned Parenthood through Title X.

These proposed rules are now open for public comment until May 17. 

Opposing the Biden Title X Rule is a top priority for CWALAC, and we need your help.  You can send an official comment and be counted among those who oppose allowing the Title X family planning program from being used as a vehicle to promote abortion and prop up abortion providers.

Visit our Action Center HERE and send your comment today!

Apr 23 2021
0

Biden Administration Allows Doctors to Dispense Abortion Pill by Mail

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

In light of COVID-19, the Biden Administration is temporarily allowing doctors to dispense the abortion pill by mail, making it a lot easier for women to perform at-home abortions.

This action will lift the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) former restrictions on abortion drugs and reverse a Trump Administration policy that was backed by the Supreme Court in January.

Current acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock informed the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) that allowing patients to receive abortion pills will not increase risks and will keep people safe from contracting the virus.[1]

Last year, ACOG requested that the FDA lift its requirement on the abortion drug, Mifepristone (also known as Mifeprex), arguing that the in-person requirement was unnecessary and placed patients and medical staff at risk of COVID-19.[2]

While ACOG and the FDA believe that it is unnecessary for abortion pills to be dispensed by a doctor in person, let’s just examine the FDA’s background on Mifepristone and what exactly it does to a woman and her baby.

FDA history:
Mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000 for up to 10 weeks’ gestation with an explicit warning that buyers should not purchase the drug over the Internet “because they will bypass important safeguards designed to protect their health.”

However, the FDA updated its website Tuesday, April 12, noting that it had conducted a “careful scientific review” of in-person and by-mail dispensing of the drugs “either by or under the supervision of a certified prescriber, or through a mail-order pharmacy when such dispensing is done under the supervision of a certified prescriber.”

“The FDA’s intent to exercise enforcement discretion with respect to these requirements during the public health emergency is the result of a thorough scientific review by experts within FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), who evaluated relevant information, including available clinical outcomes data and adverse event reports,” the FDA’s website said. [3]

What takes place during a medical or chemical abortion?
When a medical or chemical abortion takes place, Mifepristone is used together with another drug called Misoprostol (also known as Cytotec) to end the woman’s pregnancy.

In order to cut off blood and nourishment to her baby, Mifepristone will begin to block the mother’s natural production of “progesterone,” causing her child to starve to death.

Between 24-48 hours later, the woman will take Misoprostol which will cause her to contract and bleed in order to force the dead baby out of her womb. [4]

Several known risks of Mifepristone and Misoprostol include severe cramping, contractions, and heavy bleeding, as well as potential abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and excessive bleeding. However, one of the biggest concerns with the drug is that since it has only had approval since 2000 in the United States, women are being subjected to a medical event with unknown risks.

According to Live Action’s websites, maternal deaths have even occurred. [5]

Conclusion:
While “health experts” think that the risk of contracting COVID-19 outweighs the dangers of lifting restrictions on the abortion pill, we can see that increasing the ability to perform DIY abortions results in many health risks for mothers (known and unknown) and an increasing number of babies innocently murdered from abortion.

We must now more than ever not only stand up for the innocent unborn but also for women who are being deceived into believing that abortion is safe and that it is their only option.

[1] Alice Miranda Ollstein and Darius Tahir, “FDA lifts curbs on dispensing abortion pills during pandemic,” Politico, 4/12/2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/12/abortion-pills-481092

[2] Kate Smith, “Biden administration to lift abortion pill restriction amid pandemic, “ CBS News, 4/13/2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abortion-pill-restrictions-lifted-pandemic-fda/

[3] Mary Margaret Olohan, “Biden Administration Lifts Restrictions On Abortion Pill Despite Risks, Allows Them To Be Delivered By Mail,” The Daily Caller, 4/13/2021, https://dailycaller.com/2021/04/13/biden-fda-abortion-drugs-by-mail/

[4] Dr. Levatino and Live Action, “Abortion Procedures,” Abortion Procedures, a project of Live Action, https://www.abortionprocedures.com/abortion-pill/#1465365765676-e088639b-872e

[5] Ibid

Apr 22 2021
0

Rulemaking Is Your Chance to Make an Impact

By | Education, National Sovereignty, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Use your voice to help Concerned Women for America hold the line against the Biden Administration’s aggressive, pro-abortion, anti-American agenda. Action items below.

The Biden Administration is rapidly translating President Biden’s radical and far-reaching agenda into new federal rulemaking. The goal of these proposed rules is to enshrine President Biden’s executive orders into regulations that will dictate the terms for federal programs. Where Executive Orders and Dear Colleague letters have limits, federal regulations offer legitimacy and permanency.

Federal rulemaking requires an administrative process established by law that includes a comment period of at least 30 days where the American public can weigh in on the proposed rules.  A federal agency must review all comments and adapt them in revising and finalizing any rule. Public comments that are not sufficiently taken into account can be used to challenge the final outcome. Rules stay in force until comparable action is taken to make changes.

It is vital that concerned citizens voice their position by commenting on proposed rules. Whereas letters to Congress are critical to influence members’ votes on legislation, comments through rulemaking are how citizens can impact the actions of the executive branch. This is perhaps the most significant way your voice counts in policymaking under the Biden Administration.

President Biden wants to overturn the progress made by the Trump administration in federal rulemaking, especially in the area of pro-life policy. He also wants to force progressive mandates across all federal agencies and programs, including redefining sex as gender identity, not biology, and forcing critical race theory and training in education, health care, law enforcement, and more.

Two proposed rules on these subjects with deadlines in mid-May have been published that provide a vital opportunity for your input. Our CWA Action Center provides the information, bullet points, and avenue you need to write a comment and submit it to the Federal Register.

  1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Proposed Rule revoking Trump’s 2019 Title X rule to reinstate Planned Parenthood, remove separation from abortion requirements, and encourage abortion counseling and referral.
    COMMENT HERE
    Deadline: May 17, 2021
  2. U.S. Department of Education Proposed Rule requiring 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory curriculum priorities in federal American History and Civics Education grants
    COMMENT HERE
    Deadline: May 19, 2021

Please be counted in opposition to each of these proposed rules by submitting a comment today.

Apr 14 2021
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Update on Born Alive Discharge Petition

By | CEO, Infanticide, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

April 16, 2021: Update on Discharge Petition

On opening day, 202 U.S. Representatives signed the discharge petition for the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, setting a record for the most signatures in a single day.  You can see if your Representative has signed the discharge petition here (presented in order of signature).

If your Representative has signed the discharge petition, please use our action center to send a note of thanks!

If your Representative has NOT signed,  use our action center to urge them to sign today.

April 14, 2021 Post 

The Born Alive discharge petition is being launched today, April 14. Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) joined Reps. Ann Wagner (R-Missouri) and Kat Cammack (R-Florida) as the first signers.

Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, CEO and President Penny Young Nance had this to say on the discharge petition:

“Our humanity demands that we stand and protect the least of these, so why won’t a Democrat majority allow a vote on a bill to protect babies born alive from attempted abortion?  These innocent ones are human beings with inherent dignity and worth. We urge every U.S. House member to sign the discharge petition for the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. A vote to prevent infanticide shouldn’t be an act of courage; it should be a requirement for service.”

Join CWA in your support for life by contacting your Representatives today using this link and urging them to sign the discharge petition in support of the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

Apr 12 2021
0

Born Alive Discharge Petition Score Letter

By | Infanticide, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Concerned Women for America LAC sent this scorecard letter urging U.S. Representatives to sign the discharge petition in support of H.R. 619, the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

Join CWA in your support for life by contacting your Representatives today using this link and urging them to sign the discharge petition in support of the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

Mar 08 2021
0
Baby in womb

Action Needed! Hyde Amendment at Stake

By | Hyde Amendment, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

If you oppose the federal government using taxes from workers’ paychecks to fund the destruction of babies in the womb through abortion, call your member of Congress at 202-225-3121 and urge them to vote NO. Read why below.

Senate Democrats Repeal Hyde Amendment in Massive New Spending Cloaked as “COVID Relief”  

As part of the massive, partisan $1.9 trillion coronavirus spending bill passed on Saturday, every Senate Democrat voted to scrap over 40 years of bipartisan consensus to prevent the federal government from using your tax dollars from paying for the brutal destruction of babies through abortion. This is unconscionable. Any American who knows babies in the womb deserves the chance to live needs to stand against this atrocity.

A strong majority of Americans, including many who identify as “pro-choice,” support the Hyde Amendment (for domestic programs) and the Helms Amendment (for international programs), which prohibit federal tax dollars from American workers’ paychecks being used to kill innocent pre-born children at home and abroad.

President Joe Biden and his radical Democrat party are promoting a culture of death in this reckless, excessive federal bail-out bill. Under the guise of an “American Rescue Plan,” they are abandoning protection for the most vulnerable and voiceless lives in America:  babies in the womb.

Democrat Senators Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Bob Casey (Pennsylvania), and Tim Kaine (Virginia) voted for an amendment to restore the Hyde Amendment protections to prevent any of the $1.9 trillion from paying for abortion on demand. The amendment failed to reach the sixty votes needed for passage. These same members then voted for passage of the final bill, willing to allow billions of dollars in new Obamacare funding to pay for an abortion for any reason. Sens. Manchin, Casey, and Kaine care more about $1,400 checks in the mail than the billions of dollars that can now be spent to destroy innocent pre-born babies. Shame on them and the entire Democrat party.

The so-called “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” now goes back to the House for a vote. If you oppose the federal government using taxes from workers’ paychecks to fund the destruction of babies in the womb through abortion, call your member of Congress at 202-225-3121 and urge them to vote NO.

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Mar 02 2021
0

The Federalist: Biden’s DOJ Appointees Plan To Persecute Nuns, Police, And Female Athletes

By | Legal, News and Events, Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s choice for U.S. attorney general, confirmed his focus on “ensuring racial equity” and “meeting the evolving threat of violent extremism” at his confirmation hearings last week.

“If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol,” he said in his opening statements, calling the events on Jan. 6, “a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.”

Combined with other nominations being put in motion, the statements indicate we may be going back to the days of extraordinary politicization of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other administrative agencies to go after Democrats’ enemies.

—Click here to read the rest of this op-ed as featured in The Federalist.

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Feb 22 2021
0

Nance to Newsweek: Did Evangelicals Make a Mistake in Supporting Trump?

By | CEO, Defense of Family, National Sovereignty, News and Events, Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life, Sexual Exploitation, Support for Israel | No Comments

Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee to Newsweek: “Evangelical policy leaders have been willing to work with every president. To his credit, President Trump sought our advice often—and we supported his policies because they matched our positions. We will never again settle for political crumbs from the establishment’s table. We expect conservative elected officials to live up to their campaign promises to earn our votes.”

Read Penny’s entire Newsweek piece here.

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Feb 16 2021
0

Nance to Christian Post: Russell Moore, John Piper ‘let down the pro-life movement’ by opposing Trump

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

Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America, was interviewed by the Christian Post and had this to say about the impact of the election on the pro-life efforts, “Evangelical leaders let down the pro-life movement by not standing firm on the fact that we needed a pro-life president.”

Read Penny’s full interview.

Feb 05 2021
2

All Night Vote-A-Rama to Push Massive New COVID Spending

By | Defense of Family, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

This week, President Joe Biden shirked off a request from several moderate Republican Senators to work on a bipartisan coronavirus relief bill. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats led by Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders laid the path for a budget resolution establishing a framework for massive new federal taxpayer spending for coronavirus relief that subverts the 60-vote requirement of the legislative filibuster. Their tactic guaranteed passage on a party-line vote after an all-night amendment marathon and Vice President Harris showing up to break the 50-50 tie.

This first partisan showdown by President Biden and his new Senate majority was proof enough that any talk of unifying Washington D.C. policymakers is nothing more than lip service. It previewed the coming battle over whether the filibuster will stand and the issues that will define the differences between the two parties and their priorities.

The process was not without a tactical opportunity for Republicans to file hundreds of amendments for floor consideration (over 800 in all were filed) and secure several votes on key issues during the 50 hours of debate. In a letter to Senators, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) signaled our intent to score relevant amendments related to our seven core issues. Of the forty-five amendments that received votes, CWALAC identified six votes that will be included on our scorecard, which have put Senators on record for the next election on some key issues.

Two of the six amendments passed to become part of the budget resolution.  The others failed:

Protecting Life:  Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) offered a Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act amendment to create criminal and civil penalties for medical providers who fail to exercise the same degree of care for babies who survive an abortion or attempted abortion as would be provided to another child born at the same gestational age. The vote failed 52-48 (all Republicans plus Democrat Sens. Joe Manchin [West Virginia] and Bob Casey [Pennsylvania] voted yes). Sixty votes were required under the Budget Act due to a lack of germaneness as a non-budget measure.

Supreme Court Packing:  Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) offered an amendment to prevent attempts to increase the number of Supreme Court Justices beyond nine. The amendment put Senators on record on the issue of court-packing. On a failed 50-50 vote, every Senate Democrat opposed the amendment indicating that every one of them would support adding justices to the Supreme Court in an attempt to overrule the current 6-3 conservative majority.

Religious Freedom:  Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment to prohibit infringing the free exercise of religion in employment, commerce, social services, faith and community partnerships, or access to housing, healthcare, or education. With 60-votes needed, the amendment failed 50-50 with Sen. Manchin voting yes and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voting no across party lines.  In his remarks, Sen. Lee cited the targeting of Little Sisters of Poor because of their religious beliefs as a reason why this protection is needed.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) offered an amendment to limit COVID-19 relief payments to states or localities that impose greater limits on the content of speech or restrictions on religious exercise, houses of worship, and faith-based organizations under the pandemic. This measure passed 51-49 with Sen. Manchin crossing the aisle.

Reopening schools: Senators Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) and Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) offered an amendment that would withhold additional coronavirus funds to schools that do not reopen for in-person learning after teachers have received a COVID-19 vaccine. The amendment failed on a party-line vote.

U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem: Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee) offered an amendment which shows the Biden Administration that any attempt to undo President Trump’s historic move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 would not have Senate support. Their amendment requires the United States to maintain its Israel embassy in Jerusalem and passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 97-3.

With final passage of the budget measure after an all-night vote-a-rama, Democrats will now be able to write a partisan reconciliation bill that can bypass the filibuster in the Senate. Eleven Senate committees are now instructed to report legislation for the $1.9 trillion coronavirus spending package demanded by President Biden by February 16. One month after losing two seats in the Georgia runoff election,  Senate Republicans must exercise every muscle as the minority party to hold the line against the radical political priorities of the left.

By: Doreen Denny, Vice President of Government Relations

Feb 05 2021
0

Pro-life Senators join House Members in Drawing the Line to Save Hyde

By | Hyde Amendment, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Forty-eight Republican Senators have penned a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) pledging to oppose the rollback of longstanding protections in current law. Only Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), both known for their pro-choice views, declined to sign.

Much like President Donald Trump’s veto promise in the 116th Congress, the message to Senate Democrats is unequivocal:

 “We are united in our resolve to guard against any changes to Federal law that would unsettle nearly half a century of bipartisan consensus against taxpayer funding for abortion on demand, or otherwise threaten the lives of unborn children. Accordingly, we are committed to vote against the advancement of any legislation that would eliminate or weaken the Hyde Amendment or any other current-law pro-life protections, or otherwise undermine existing Federal pro-life policy.”

This pledge draws a significant line in the sand for the incoming majority leader whose job it will be to navigate hurdles for advancing his party’s political and policy priorities. These include an aggressive agenda to repeal the Hyde Amendment, fund Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry at home and abroad, revoke our rights to conscience protections, sideline faith-based service providers who object to abortion, and codify Roe v. Wade.

These Senators join House members in a bicameral commitment to protect pro-life policy under the Biden Administration and a Democrat-controlled Congress. Their initiative demonstrates their noble commitment to the cause of protecting life at every stage of development and protecting the American taxpayer from paying for abortion, a policy supported by a majority of the American people– even a large percent who identify as pro-choice.

The Senators call on Sen. Schumer to see the truth about abortion:

 “Abortion is not health care; rather, it is a brutal procedure that destroys the life of an innocent unborn child. The Hyde Amendment reflects a consensus that millions of pro-life Americans who are profoundly opposed to abortion should not be coerced into paying for it or incentivizing it with their taxpayer dollars.”

Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee will work actively in partnership with pro-life members to ensure our hard-fought victories for protecting life are not overruled.  Our advocacy on Capitol Hill will require the engagement of all Americans who care about protecting the most vulnerable and voiceless among us.