Contact: Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has asked a Texas pro-life organization some questions that one constitutional attorney says it has no business knowing the answers to.
Christian Voices for Life in Sugarland, Texas, conducts prayer vigils at abortion clinics and participates in Life Chain and 40 Days for Life. Tom Brejcha of the Thomas More Society tells OneNewsNow the IRS has posed a number of questions to the pro-life group, which is seeking a tax-exempt status.
"[They are asking] 'Do you educate on both sides of an issue?' Well, the abortion issue? The answer is emphatically no," Brejcha reports. "In fact, there is no such requirement anywhere near the Internal Revenue Code, and you're surely entitled to a tax exemption if you educate the public about the truth."
So he suggests it should be up to the tax-exempt pro-abortion groups to present the other side of the issues.
Instead, he explains, the pro-life group is presented with questions such as: "During your Life Chain and your 40 Days for Life programs, do you try to block people from entering a building, a medical clinic or any other facility," which the Thomas More Society spokesman says implies a false speculation. "Where did they get that idea? Certainly not in the application for exemption."
In response to the probe, Brechja's organization has sent a strongly worded letter that suggests the IRS has no legitimate exemption concern, but that it may be denying or delaying tax-exempt status because of the organization's pro-life message. Moreover, he says the IRS seems to believe Christian Voices for Life might intend to engage in illegal activity, which he concludes is insulting.
