Commentary

A court battle has been raging over the fate of a preborn child in Texas. The baby’s mother is a 17-year old illegal immigrant who apparently came across the border to obtain an abortion.  Because she is in federal custody, she is demanding that American taxpayers pay for the abortion.

Texas AG Ken Paxton has been fighting against a tax-funded abortion, arguing that immigrants who come to the U.S. illegally do not thereby constitutional rights- particularly a right to elective abortion. “Texas must not become a sanctuary state for abortions,” he has proclaimed.

President Trump has engaged in the effort to protect the life of the preborn child.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement has intervened in the case, insisting that refugee shelters cannot facilitate abortions for minors without the director’s express and specific approval. Director Scott Lloyd, appointed by President Trump, has withheld his approval.  So the ACLU has stepped in to force the issue in court.

The abortion champion won the first round before Judge Tanya Chutkan – an Obama appointee.

But the Trump Department of Justice entered the fray and appealed the district court ruling. The U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. blocked the lower court’s ruling yesterday.

We are most encouraged by the pro-Life integrity being demonstrated by the President and various appointees. Please join us in praying for the life of that little one.

Our friend, Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona, spoke with the media yesterday about his legislation to outlaw late-term abortions in America.

“We’re going to protect unborn children once they’ve reached the beginning of the sixth month, because that’s clearly at a time when there’s no real medical authority that would say they don’t feel pain. They do indeed feel pain at that age,” Franks said in an interview the Daily Caller.

He emphasized during the interview that the U.S. was one of only 7 nations that allows elective abortion after six months into a pregnancy. As we’ve reported before – America is in a Club of Horrors that includes countries like Vietnam, North Korea and China.

He is encouraged by Sen. McConnell’s commitment to hold a vote on the Graham-Crapo bill, but worried that Democrats will use the filibuster rule to defeat the bill.

Franks called upon McConnell to dump the filibuster rule:

“It’s a bad rule. It means that the American people don’t get a debate and it’s something that has to be changed.”

In fact, Congressman Franks went so far as to say that if McConnell lets the filibuster rule defeat this legislation to protect innocent babies, “he should find something else to do because he’s lost his way.”

During his news conference with President Trump this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly committed to a vote on the Pain-Capable Abortion Ban sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Mike Crapo. Perhaps we will see a vote before Christmas

That is certainly good news. The legislation, which will serve as a ban on late-term abortions after 20 weeks, has already passed the House.

However, it seems likely to end in more disappointment for the pro-Life community.

It is our understanding that this legislation will be subject to the Democrat filibuster. That means we will witness another victory by the Democratic minority because of arcane Senate tradition; thereby thwarting the Trump Agenda and defying the desires of the American people.  And the horrific practice of dismembering babies in the womb continues.

Perhaps it is important to remind our elected officials that the filibuster rule cannot be found in the Constitution. There is no mention in those founding principles of the Republic that every piece of legislation must acquire a super-majority in order to become law.  There is not even a federal statute to that effect.  It is simply a Senate Rule – a long standing tradition, if you will.

And, just maybe, there was a day when such a rule was a good idea. Maybe it worked to level things out and encouraged bi-partisanship.  But that would be a day long since passed.  The new Democrat Party has no interest in compromise, bi-partisanship or comity.  It exists to serve its masters – organizations like Planned Parenthood and donors like George Soros.  And Democrats know full well that the dysfunction of the U.S. Senate is in their vital interest.

Why Republicans have not awakened to these obvious facts defies explanation.

Nothing could be more soothing to the general public than a restoration of confidence in the U.S. Congress. And that confidence has everything to do with getting the people’s business done.  Set aside the question of abortion for a minute – how about simply restoring the basic appropriation process?  How about addressing the huge backlog of House-passed legislation awaiting action?

Senate Republicans must come to terms with the fact that they are in a gun fight. They need to come to the fracas armed with something more lethal than a salad fork.

Eliminate the filibuster rule.

Idaho’s Mike Crapo has signed on to be an original co-sponsor of the Pain-Capable Child Protection Act in the U.S. Senate.

This legislation, similar to a bill passed by the Idaho Legislature in 2011, would ban abortions after 20 weeks’ gestation. It is based upon medical research demonstrating that preborn children experience profound pain during an abortion, particularly when the standard “dismemberment” procedure is used.

This barbaric practice of pulling the baby apart limb-by-limb, if used to kill barnyard animals, would result in felony convictions for cruelty to animals. But in modern America, it is a practice performed by Planned Parenthood on defenseless babies and shielded by their allies on the federal bench.

Senator Crapo has been a champion of the pro-Life cause throughout his public career, going all the way back to his heroic efforts in the Idaho Senate in the 1990 session.

Idaho’s House members, Raul Labrador and Mike Simpson, voted for the House version of this legislation earlier this week. It remains to be seen whether Senate Majority Leader will schedule a floor vote on the bill.

The House posted a strong vote yesterday in favor of legislation that would outlaw abortions of babies after the 20^th week of a pregnancy.  There would be exceptions for the life of the mother, and instances of rape or incest.  Idaho’s Raul Labrador and Mike Simpson joined with 235 other congressmen to support the proposal brought forth by our friend, Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona.

Prior to the House vote, President Trump issued a public statement supporting the legislation, arguing that its passage was a critical step toward rebuilding a culture of life in the United States.

How right he is. Did you know that there are some 430 abortion clinics around the country which perform abortions on babies after 20 weeks’ gestation?

Even more chilling: America is one of only 7 countries in the world that permit late term elective abortions. We are joined by Canada, China, Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore and Vietnam.  Quite a disturbing company to be in.

This is actually the third time such a restriction has passed the Congress. And each time, the bill has become mired in the stalling tactics of Senate Democrats who owe their office to Big Abortion.  Without strong leadership and reform of Senate rules, it is hard to see this present version faring much better.  But we live in a world of miracles as well as tragedy.  So it is rational to hope that soon America will recover its role as the beacon of righteousness in a world craving such leadership.

While Congress continues to dither over fulfilling its promise to defund Planned Parenthood, President Trump is pressing forward to close the many revenue streams Obama wove into the federal tapestry during his dismal years in the White House.

In addition to Medicaid funding and Family Planning grants, Obama subsidized the abortion merchant by granting them various contracts. One such revenue stream involved hiring Planned Parenthood to help sign up people for ObamaCare.  The Department of Health & Human Services has already cut those dollars by 84%.  The cuts means a loss of multi-millions to Planned Parenthood.

The Trump Administration is also slashing money for sex education grants, a new program established by Obama. Cuts are expected to exceed $200 million – and one of those Planned Parenthood affiliates hardest hit is Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest.  This is the regional operation which oversees Planned Parenthood’s operations in Idaho.

This is welcome news, but we must continue to press the fight until Planned Parenthood is completely removed from the backs of hardworking taxpayers. That requires Congressional leadership and action.

Federal Judge Tonya Pratt issued a ruling against the State of Indiana late last week.  She declared that the state’s law protecting babies with Down Syndrome from being targeted for destruction is “unconstitutional” .  The Indiana law also made it illegal to abort babies solely because of disability, gender or race.

Judge Pratt struck down the law at the behest of Planned Parenthood. (And, yes, she is an Obama appointee).

This is not the first pro-abortion ruling from Pratt, but it is perhaps her most contemptible. In essence, Pratt has ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects the practice of eugenics.  Most readers will be familiar with Planned Parenthood’s history of eugenics, as it was founded by Margaret Sanger, an early proponent of culling the human race on the basis of race and socio-economic background.

What may be less well known is that Pratt’s ruling has some roots in the dark judicial history of this country. There was a time when progressive jurists like Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes boldly defended the practice of forced sterilization of persons deemed “socially unfit”.  See Buck v. Bell (1927).  Some sources suggest that as many as 70,000 citizens were forcibly deprived of the right to reproduce.

But this ruling by Pratt actually goes further: It sanctifies the killing of an existing baby simply because of a disability or because of the baby’s gender.

One wonders when the Congress might be persuaded to intervene in the outrageous malpractice being foisted upon American society by radical judges like Ms. Pratt.

UPDATE:

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill announced on Tuesday that he will appeal the ruling to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Chicago.  In a written press release printed by LifeNews.Com, Hill says:

“By declaring unconstitutional a state law that would bar abortions solely on the basis race, sex or disability such as Down Syndrome, a federal has cleared the path for

genetic discrimination that once seemed like science fiction.”

It is hard to believe, but Sen. John McCain seems poised to save Planned Parenthood once again. He announced yesterday that he intended to vote against legislation that would be begin repealing ObamaCare.  Included in that language is a transfer of public funds from Planned Parenthood to legitimate women’s health care providers.

There is still some hope, but time is short. Without action in the next several days, the window will close for using the reconciliation process to enact legislation with just 51 votes.

Despite the terrible abuse suffered by families in Arizona – via horrific hikes in insurance premiums – McCain remains adamant that Democrats be brought into some kind of “compromise” that will take many months to achieve. At a minimum, that means Planned Parenthood continues to receive funding for at least another year.  And ObamaCare will be in place through at least 2018.

But the terms being offered by McCain are actually much worse than a year-long status quo.

So long as he serves in the Senate, McCain’s ultimatum means that ObamaCare survives in some form or another. No national Democrat can afford to defy the prevailing political reality within liberal circles by supporting a plan to destroy Obama’s legacy.  Even more difficult for a Democrat would be a vote to defund Planned Parenthood.

That leaves the nation facing a pretty dark future. Perhaps one only to be corrected by the election of more Republicans to the Senate next year – which, given the current lack of meaningful accomplishment, is going to be a tough sell to the general voting public in November of 2018.

We need to be in prayer that one of the other hold-outs, perhaps Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, may change her mind on repealing ObamaCare.

There is also some hope that Senate Republicans would consider a simpler bill to defund Planned Parenthood using the reconciliation process.  That doesn’t solve the crisis of the nation’s overhaul health care system, but it would be a tremendous step forward in salvaging some of the national GOP’s reputation.

The U.S. House passed an omnibus appropriations bill (HR 3354) yesterday that consolidates into one piece of legislation all twelve of the big appropriations measures. This is a first step toward normalizing the funding process – which has been in tatters for many years.

What caught our eye about this development was the pro-Life content of the spending measure.

Buried in the section of the bill to fund the Department of Health & Human Services is language to defund Planned Parenthood. The Republican House directs that none of the money in the budget can be given to organizations that perform abortion.  Instead, that money is re-directed toward actual health care providers.

In addition, the House bill would prohibit the use of federal funds in experimental research projects using tissue harvested from aborted babies.

There are dozens of other pro-Life measures written into the bill – including a prohibition of funding for the UN Population Fund and Conscience Protections for medical personnel.

That is terrific news. But it immediately raises the question: What next?  Is there any chance that the U.S. Senate could pass this appropriation bill and get it to the President’s desk?  We believe that this legislation is subject to the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster rule.  If so, then the Democrat minority will certainly exercise its veto power and stop this bill from even being voted on.

Which brings us to the conclusion that it is time for the Senate leadership to end the filibuster rule – at least with respect to the budgeting and appropriation process. This is at the heart of the powers and Constitutional responsibilities of Congress.  Yet dysfunction has become the norm.  Year after year we witness the fiasco of continuing resolutions and perpetual funding of programs and agencies a majority in Congress do not support.

Recovering a rational spending process would go a long way toward rebuilding the public trust in Congress as an institution. But it will require Sen. McConnell and Senate Republicans to take the courageous step of revamping the rules best left to an era long since passed.

We pray the Republicans in the Senate find the will to pass the House appropriations measure.

The Trump Administration must take swift action to protect religious liberty in America.

Churches in the Great State of California are being forced to pay for abortions as part of the health insurance plans they are required to provide employees. This gross assault on religious liberty rights began in 2014 when the California Department of Managed Health Care issued an edict declaring abortion to be a “basic health service”.  Because of ObamaCare, that bureaucratic edict has the force of law.

And now a federal district court in California has apparently issued a ruling declaring that this ObamaCare rule wipes out the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Several churches in California filed a lawsuit against the State of California begging for relief from the courts. They argued that not only does the California rule violate the right to the free exercise of religion, it also violates federal law in the form of the Weldon Amendment designed to prevent the use of federal tax dollars to pay for abortions.

The federal judge dismissed the lawsuit brought by three churches last week, relying upon a ruling by the Obama Administration’s Justice Department that California’s mandate does not violate the Weldon Amendment.

Pro-Life members of Congress have already been working on the Trump Administration to fix this situation. According to LifeNews, a delegation recently met with Health & Human Services Secretary Tom Price, asking for a fresh review of the outrage in California and the application of the Weldon Amendment to policies sold in California.

It is difficult to understand how a federal judge is free to ignore the clear language of the Constitution, or the various Supreme Court rulings applying the First Amendment to this whole ObamaCare/Abortion Mandate controversy.

Ultimately, it is up to the Congress to destroy the monster which is ObamaCare. Let us pray that, after yet another vacation, Republicans in Congress return to work with a fresh sense of vigor to provide the leadership and relief they have promised.