Commentary

The Board of Idaho Chooses Life has voted to endorse Sen. Curt McKenzie for the open seat on the Idaho Supreme Court, now held by retiring Justice Jim Jones.

McKenzie has a 100% pro-Life record over his 7 terms in the Idaho Senate. He has sponsored and co-sponsored pro-Life legislation, including a measure which prohibits the State Insurance Exchange from using tax dollars to pay for abortions.

Sen. McKenzie earned our Friend for Life Award in 2012.

In addition to his pro-Life values, McKenzie brings a proven record of defending the religious liberties of Idahoans. One of his most important tests came in the fight to establish a state insurance exchange.  We asked legislators to amend the bill by including language to protect Idaho’s employers from being forced to provide insurance coverage under ObamaCare that violated their religious beliefs.  This measure would have stopped the state from helping Obama force Christian employers into paying for abortion-causing drugs like Ella and “Emergency Contraception”.  McKenzie was one of only 11 senators to vote for our Religious Liberty Amendment in 2013.

There is no doubt that the most important qualification for any judicial candidate is a proven adherence to the principles and values which gave rise to a republican form of government in America. The Constitution is a clear and precise defense of our liberties and a systematic limitation on the powers of government.  We are being destroyed by judges who believe they are part of a new high priesthood with the power to rewrite the Constitution to suit their particular social agenda and vision for a “better” society.

In contrast, we believe that Curt McKenzie respects the proper limitations of the judiciary, and will vigorously apply the Constitution as plainly written to cases which come before the Court.

We have a huge responsibility this month. Idaho’s Constitution provides the voters of this state with a powerful check on judicial arrogance: Our ballot.

We urge pro-Life voters to support Curt McKenzie in the May 17th Primary Election. And please urge your neighbors and friends at church to do the same.

Idaho Chooses Life announced today that its Board has voted to support the re-election of Sen. Mike Crapo to the United States Senate.

“We are proud to once again endorse Sen. Crapo,” said ICL Executive Director David Ripley in a prepared statement. “He has worked hard during his entire public career to defend preborn children and their mothers from the scourge of abortion.”

“We are especially gratified by the leadership Sen. Crapo has taken this past year to end the taxpayer subsidies of Planned Parenthood,” Ripley added. “It is long past time for women and girls to receive quality health care and for Congress to end its partnership with America’s largest abortion chain.”

Idaho Chooses Life honored Sen. Crapo in 2008 for his stellar voting record on pro-Life issues by giving him its “Friend for Life” Award.

In January of this year, Sen. Crapo became a co-sponsor of legislation brought forward by Sen. Rand Paul to recognize the personhood of preborn children from conception. The “Life at Conception Act” would explicitly extend the protections of the 14^th Amendment to babies in the womb.

“That is the kind of leadership we have come to expect from Sen. Crapo,” Ripley concluded. “His integrity and vigorous defense of our values should make every Idahoan proud.”

Some 75 members of Congress, including Idaho’s Senator Jim Risch, issued a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf today. They are asking for detailed information about the FDA’s recent decision to accede to Planned Parenthood’s demand that the rules governing RU-486 usage be substantially loosened.

Just weeks after being confirmed to the FDA post, Califf announced that Planned Parenthood could use the deadly drug much later in pregnancy. And he also approved a new protocol which allows pregnant girls to complete the chemical abortion on their own without medical supervision.

Risch and others want to know the scientific background and studies which led the FDA to overhaul the restrictions governing RU-486. They are also asking for copies of any correspondence and email traffic between the White House, Planned Parenthood and the FDA.

They also want to know what kind of oversight the FDA has established over the facilities manufacturing the drug.

A key excerpt from the letter:

“We are deeply disappointed to learn that you have loosened FDA standards governing use of the abortion drug mifepristone, also referred to as Mifeprex or RU-486. This powerful abortion drug has been associated with serious adverse events including hemorrhaging, severe infections and even deaths of mothers who have taken it.”

Canada is now in the throes of a national fight over physician-assisted suicide.

The drama begins with an edict from the high priests on the Canadian Supreme Court that the Parliament must enact a law to legalize physician-assisted suicide. That was something like a year ago.  The new prime minister, pin-up model Justin Trudeau, has dutifully come forth with legislation.

Fierce opposition has developed over many of the provisions proposed.

Some argue that the proposal would provide a perfect cover for a person to commit murder. The language provides immunity to “any person” who participates in an assisted suicide.

The language also requires that every physician in Canada, if they object to participating in the premature destruction of a patient, refer their patient to a doctor or facility who will help kill the person.

One Canadian physician has publicly challenged this requirement and the lack of conscience protections for medical professionals.

“If a father were to request that his daughter undergo circumcision (i.e., genital mutilation) and I deliberately provided an effective referral to a willing physician, I would be complicit in an extremely grievous breach of medical ethics,” writes Dr. Ewan Goligher. “This scenario is not ethically identical to physician-assisted death, but it effectively illustrates the moral and ethical responsibility attached to an effective referral.  Knowingly referring a patient to a physician willing to cause the patient’s death makes doctors complicit in that death.”

To make matters worse, the association of life insurers in Canada has come out with a new policy, saying they would be happy to abandon their long-standing practice of denying coverage in cases where the policy holder commits suicide – as long as those policy holders follow the procedures outlined by the government. That practically provides something of an incentive to persons suffering from financial hardship: they can arrange to provide for their family by submitting to premature death.

While this Canadian development does not directly affect the U.S. – the legislation supposedly bans “tourism suicides” – it is a bad omen for the future. Not only do we share a long border and common pop culture, but we share vital roles in defending the fundamental Christian values of Western Civilization.  That is our common heritage.

From that perspective, we must be concerned with the obvious love affair in Western culture with death, and self-destruction in general. The advanced cultural cancer which is destroying Europe has reached the shores of North America.

Governor Otter signed SB1404 into law today. This landmark legislation, known as the Idaho Unborn Infants Dignity Act, makes a huge step forward in affirming the value of the preborn child.

The new law makes it illegal to harvest organs and body parts from aborted babies. It also makes it illegal to conduct medical experiments using tissue harvested from babies killed by abortion.

Another feature of the legislation creates a death certificate for babies lost to miscarriage. Many grieving parents testified before the Legislation, asking for this important recognition of their child.  And the new law makes it clear that parents have the right to direct the final disposition of babies lost to miscarriage and abortion.

There are many people to thank for this great pro-Life victory. Let’s begin with the lead sponsors of the legislation, Sen. Cliff Bayer and Rep. Brent Crane.  Both of these men signed up early in the wake of the horrible revelations regarding Planned Parenthood’s nasty side business of trading baby parts for Lamborghinis.  We had dozens of co-sponsors as well.  Idaho is well-served by such citizens willing to accept the responsibility of serving their neighbors at the Capitol.

The leadership of the Legislature in both chambers was very helpful and supportive of this effort. We are especially grateful for the support of Sens. Bart Davis and Todd Lakey.  Sen. Lakey in particular devoted tremendous time to making this effort successful.  Special thanks are due as well to Chairman Loertscher for his leadership and wisdom, and we are thankful to Chairman McKenzie for giving us ample time before the Senate State Affairs panel.

We must also acknowledge the role played by Americans United for Life. The basic blueprint for this legislation was developed by this tremendous organization last fall, and they continue to play a vital role in rebuilding a wall of protection around the preborn child.

Idaho is blessed to have a pro-Life governor and legislature. This legislation is a strong statement of principle and decency at a time when the nation desperately needs such leadership.  Hopefully the Idaho Unborn Infants Dignity Act can be used in other states as a model response to the on-going horrors of an unbridled abortion industry.

There were times in this legislative struggle when the odds seemed long, but the Lord helped us overcome the obstacles in our path. Ultimately, this victory belongs to Him.

Idaho Governor Butch Otter has signed HB516 into law. This new feature of the Informed Consent statute will require the Department of Health & Welfare to include information about where a woman can go to get a free ultrasound of her baby prior to an abortion decision.

At least seven of the state’s pregnancy care centers now offer ultrasounds as part of their care and counseling services for women and girls dealing with an unplanned pregnancy.

The legislation was brought forward by Right to Life and sponsored in the Legislature by Rep. Ron Nate and Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll.

During their opposition to the bill, Planned Parenthood testified that they use ultrasounds on women and girls they’ve ensnared – but only as part of an abortion procedure.

CNSNews is carrying a story today which clearly shows the impact legalized abortion is having on the fate of humanity. They are reporting that we will soon face a future in which those who are 65 years of age or older will outnumber children under the age of 5.  That is a first in all of human history.

Their report is based upon data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the study, “these two age groups will continue to grow in opposite directions.  By 2050, the percentage of the (global) population 65 and older will be more than double that of children under the age of 5”.

The globe’s 25 oldest nations begin with Japan and include 22 European nations. The youngest countries are found in the Persian Gulf.

Japan, Germany, Italy and Greece are clearly gentrifying. America is teetering.

The major culprit is declining birth rates resulting from legalized abortion and cultural shifts toward smaller families.

The Census Bureau report raises alarm over the prospect of a dwindling working population supporting an ever-growing elderly population in the decades ahead. We can already see some of that demographic reality hitting the United States in the way ObamaCare was structured to force younger Americans to get expensive coverage in order to subsidize benefits for older folks.

The Food & Drug Administration announced yesterday that it was caving in to pressure from Planned Parenthood to expand the use of RU-486.

Specifically, the FDA will now allow Planned Parenthood to dispense the deadly chemical cocktail to women and girls until nearly the end of the 1^st trimester of pregnancy – much longer than its original restriction of 49 days.

The FDA has also dropped a requirement that a physician provide mifepristone to patients, meaning that nurses or other personnel at Planned Parenthood will be authorized to give out the drugs. Making matters worse, the agency has dropped a requirement that the woman return to get the second drug (misoprostol); now the woman or girl will be sent home with the second drug to complete her abortion at home without medical supervision.

Given the clear evidence of RU-486 harming women – deaths have been reported – it is most disturbing that the new regulations have dropped the requirement that a woman return for an exam following the abortion.

Clearly, these more liberal regulations are not designed to protect women and girls; this is a gift from Barack Obama to his pals at Planned Parenthood to feed their bottom line.

It is rather striking that these new regulations have come down less than a month after the Republican Senate confirmed Obama’s new Commissioner of Food & Drugs, Dr. Robert Califf.

In response, Congressman Chris Smith issued the following comments:

“Not only is mifepristone used to kill babies, it is a poison that has harmed and even killed women. Yet even with this record, President Obama has bowed to pressure from his abortion cronies and has further expanded the use of the abortion pill, putting the health and lives of even more women and children at risk.”

Late yesterday, on the eve of adjournment, the Idaho House voted 54-14 to approve SB1404. This landmark legislation makes it illegal to harvest tissue from aborted babies, and it makes it illegal to use such tissue in experimentations at Idaho’s public universities and colleges.

Thus, SB1404 attacks both the supply and demand side of the organ trafficking horror revealed by the undercover video project of the Center for Medical Progress.

The only organized opposition to the legislation came from Planned Parenthood – the same group which has used fetal tissue to subsidize payroll for its abortionists across the nation. This is the same organization which claimed as recently as yesterday to unwitting reporters at KTVB that they don’t harvest and sell organs from its Idaho abortuaries.

And, yet, Planned Parenthood of Idaho has a long track record of deceiving public officials and the general public about its operations and intentions. (Only a year ago, they told legislators they had no plans to perform “web-cam” abortions using RU-486; in December they filed suit against the State because they have a “constitutional right“ to offer such services across rural Idaho).

The clueless media dutifully reported on Democrats skipping out of the House State Affairs Committee on Thursday morning because they were “offended” by the very concept of legislation like SB1404.  The same media outlets made no attempt to contact pro-Life sponsors of the legislation for a response; thus the self-serving construct of Planned Parenthood’s “victimhood” went unchallenged.  (Channel 7 didn’t even bother to cover the actual committee hearing in which testimony was presented regarding the critical need for this legislation).

But facts are stubborn things and the people of Idaho have been well-served by their legislators on this bill.

Sen. Cliff Bayer, for instance, gave compelling testimony about the serious ethical consequences to medical science from an unchecked reliance on tissue harvested from aborted babies.

While Democrats protested out in the hallway, claiming that the legislation was not “worthy of our time”, mothers who have miscarried their babies shared their tearful experiences with legislators and expressed gratitude for provisions of the bill which allow for a Certificate of Miscarriage to commemorate their loss.

The legislation is now before Governor Otter.

You can see the biased media coverage for yourself by clicking here.

The Idaho State Senate overwhelmingly approved SB1404 yesterday afternoon. This historic legislation would make it illegal to harvest organs and tissue from aborted babies.  It would make it illegal to conduct experiments with tissue and organs ripped from babies killed in abortion.  That includes embryonic stem cells.

Sadly, all Democrats on the floor sided with Planned Parenthood, which has fought vigorously against this bill – despite claims that they are not selling aborted babies from their abortion clinics in Idaho.

The legislation now moves to the House State Affairs Committee.

Please join us in praying for the success of this legislation in the closing days of the 2016 legislative session.