Presidents Page

Elections Matter to the Unborn

By Jessica Deal

Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Ca) have reintroduced the “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA) in retaliation to the recent Supreme Court ruling Gonzales v. Carhart, which upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. If passed, the FOCA would invalidate all other state and federal laws restricting abortion. With a Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate, this nightmare could soon become a reality. Only one component is lacking: a pro-choice president. “They know they cannot enact anything like this, so long as a pro-life president is in the White House,” said National Right to Life’s Legislative Director Douglas Johnson.

Leaders such as Congressman Nadler did not disguise their reason for reintroducing the FOCA: “Overturning a decision only a few years old, the Court has, for the first time since Roe v. Wade allowed an abortion procedure to be criminalized,” Nadler stated. In Gonzales v. Carhart, pro-abortion leaders saw a possible threat to Roe v. Wade. They hope the FOCA would enshrine Roe as a federal law. “In the interests of truth in advertising, the bill should be renamed the ‘Freedom for Partial-Birth Abortionists Act’,” said Johnson.

This is not the first time the FOCA has made an appearance. An earlier version of the bill was introduced in the late 1980’s by abortion proponents who feared Roe would be overturned by the Supreme Court. Then President Clinton, a supporter of the FOCA, was elected in 1992. It was thought by many pro-abortion forces, including Planned Parenthood, that the FOCA would be law within six months after Clinton took office. However, after an education and lobbying campaign, pro-lifers were able to convince many lawmakers that the bill went far beyond Roe and would nullify heavily supported state laws. The FOCA disappeared from view when the Republicans won control over the House of Representatives in 1994.

Like its predecessor, the present FOCA would also go far beyond merely codifying Roe. It would make the following types of laws invalid:

- Laws, such as the Hyde Amendment, limiting government funding of abortion.

- Parental consent or judicial authorization laws which require minors to notify their parents of their decision to have an abortion.

- Laws requiring a woman seeking an abortion to be supplied with information on options other than abortion and fetal development, and then waiting a period of 24 to 48 hours before the abortion is performed.

- Laws prohibiting abortions in government-run hospitals.

- Laws, such as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, prohibiting partial-birth abortion.

- All laws allowing state-licensed professionals, as well as health-care providers, to decline to perform or pay for abortions (usually called “conscience” laws).

- Laws stating that only licensed physicians may execute an abortion.

The FOCA also states that government agencies and officials may not “discriminate against the exercise of” the FOCA through “benefits, facilities, services, or information”. This clause leaves an opening for lawsuits of any kind against government officials. “This sweeping mandate could cover everything from rural health clinics, to health education programs in public schools- and even to pro-life speeches made by public officials,” NRLC’s Douglas Johnson said.

Currently, there is no hope for the FOCA with a pro-life president in office, but when the 2008 election arrives, this frightening piece of legislation may become federal law. If a supporter of the bill becomes our next president, the FOCA will most likely be passed. “Our ultimate success depends on electing a president who will sign the legislation and electing a Congress that can withstand any challenge or filibuster,” wrote Kim Gandy, the president of the National Organization for Women, in an e-mail alert. Voting in support of the unborn and women traumatized by abortion always matters. Now more than ever elections are crucial to defeating the culture of death.

Sources: 1. http://www.nrlc.org/FOCA/ LawmakersProposeFOCA.html

2. “Pro-Aborts Introduce Freedom of Choice Act,” Life Matters 29, no. 3 (July 2007), 4

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