House Speaker John Boehner
Dozens of members of Congress have used the annual March for Life, which drew hundreds of thousands into the icy air of Washington, to pledge support for a ban on government funding for abortions.
Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the speaker of the U.S. House, said, "Without respect for life, freedom is in jeopardy."
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., cheered marchers for braving bitter cold, then said, "For the past two years, the life community has suffered the consequences of being completely out of power. Against the will of our people, Democrats have jammed through an agenda that forces taxpayers to fund abortion and embryonic stem cell research, and even attempted to repeal conscience protections for health-care providers.
"But now the tide has turned and… [o]ur majority has been re-energized by a strong crop of pro-life leaders. We have pledged to institute a permanent, government-wide prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion, a bill at the top of our agenda in the House," he said.
While Cantor and others admitted there will be an uphill battle in the Senate and White House, the crowd cheered when he said, "But I can promise you one thing: the people's House will stand for life, and we will do everything in our power to make sure our values are reflected in the law of the land."
Reps. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.; Chris Smith, R-N.J.; Dan Lipinski, D-Ill.; and Mike Pence spoke to WND about their bills.
"First of all, let me say how wonderful this event is to hundreds of thousands of people here – most of them young. I think this speaks to the fact that we've got a new generation of pro-life leaders that hopefully will change the minds of America in this regard," Fortenberry said.
Fortenberry promised a conscience rights bill to protect medical providers from penalties should they refuse to perform abortions and other procedures that conflict with their religious beliefs.
Smith is author of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. "The evidence suggests that when public funding for abortion is unavailable, the number of abortions drops dramatically, by about 25 percent," he said.
A key section of the bill states: "No funds authorized or appropriated by federal law, and none of the funds in any trust fund to which funds are authorized or appropriated by federal law, shall be expended for any abortion."
Smith's bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, and has bipartisan support from 153 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Smith further credits Lipinski for joining him in introducing this bill to the House.
Lipinski, the lone Democrat who voted against Obamacare, is confident that the House will gain certain pro-life victories.
"I think in the House of Representatives we are going to pass the Protect Life Act which I have introduced with along with Joe Pitts, [R-Pa.,] to take the abortion funding out of the health-care law," he said.
The Protect Life Act, cosponsored by 85 Republicans and five Democrats, has been referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Lipinski also said, "I think we're going to pass Chris Smith's bill, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, to take out all taxpayer funding from federal programs. And we have work to do in the Senate after that."
Referring to his allies in Congress, Pence said, "We just believe the time has come to deny federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America. I think most Americans are surprised to learn that the largest abortion provider in America is also the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X. We now have more than 150 cosponsors on Capitol Hill for the legislation that I've offered to deny federal funding and we're hopeful for its passage."
According to sources online, 147 Republicans already are supporting Pence's Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act along with three Democrats, and it's been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Since Pence is a popular choice to run for president in 2012, WND asked whether he has decided to run.
He said, "We're obviously very humbled and encouraged to seek higher office, and my family and I are in the process of evaluating where we can make the most difference through the values that we are standing for here to today."
The annual march protests the 1973 Supreme Court conclusion in Roe v. Wade in which the justices overruled state statutes and decriminalized abortion nationwide.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said the decision has led to a "holocaust" in the U.S., and "it amounts to a stain on our national conscience and it's 'time for it to end."
There was no lack of intensity on the part of the marchers.
"A country that is able to kill their own children is kind of a hypocrite country to me," 15-year-old Anthony Rivera of Charlotte, N.C., told ABC. "How can you decide that a fetus is not a living thing? If it is not alive then it is not a baby. And if it's not a baby then you're not pregnant. So it's not terminating a pregnancy, you're just killing a life. So how can we have a country that kills our own children?"
Also on hand was Abby Johnson, renowned former director of a Planned Parenthood in Texas.
"Lawmakers and judges have to take notice because there's 250,000 – 300,000 – people right there in their front yard," she told WND.
Johnson understands why abortion advocates try to ignore pro-lifers. While she worked at Planned Parenthood, she thought of herself as a Christian and resented them praying outside her office. Now she's becoming a Catholic and speaking about her pro-life conversion in the bestselling book "unPlanned."
Johnson's change of mind and heart began as she assisted in an abortion and watched it on a sonogram.
"It was clear to me that I wasn't watching a simple choice," she said. "It was very gruesome, the taking of a life. I saw the baby's body being twisted and burned. As I said in the book, the baby was wrung like a dish cloth and its body just kind of crumbled into the tube. It was terrible to watch."
American Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of Apostolic Signatura, otherwise known as chief justice of the Vatican supreme court, sent a message from Rome to the nation's largest religious bloc and everyone of good will.
"The annual March for Life is a most effective instrument in the work of restoring the protection of the right to life for the innocent and defenseless unborn," he said."It gives an eloquent and strong pro-life witness to the whole nation.
"[I]t is important that as many citizens as are able make the effort to take part in the March for Life for the sake of our tiniest brothers and sisters."
Burke hopes that the executive, lawmaking and judicial branches of the U.S. government will restore protection of "the right to life of all, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death" because it's "critical to the future of our nation and all of her citizens."
Rabbi Yehuda Levin, president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, said, "Ask yourself, am I here to have a good time and shout for life with my friends or am I going to use this as a catalyst for the rest of the year?'
Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, joined the chorus.
"Why do I march, and why do I encourage others to march?" he asked. "It gives voice to the children. Yes, abortion continues unabated. But it does not continue unchallenged. When a tragedy goes on and on, the voice of those who defend the victims must only increase, not fall silent."
Alveda King, pastoral associate of Priests for Life and spokesperson for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, believes that victory begins with love and prayer.
"As my uncle Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' Abortion is the greatest injustice of our time," she said. "As members of the human race, we are called by God to protect the least among us, the unborn babies in the womb."
Joe Scheidler, founder and director of the Pro-Life Action League, said, "There's a mood change in the country. Abortion is still an ugly word. Most doctors and people who work in abortion clinics pretend they're not doing that.
"I march for life because I'm trying to reach people that will be activists," he said. "I think pro-life people are the greatest people in the world because they know the truth and truth is the root of freedom."
Contact: Anita Crane
Source: WorldNetDaily
