The U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday, March 21, voted to approve Senate Bill H.R. 3590, which was strongly opposed by the Virginia Society for Human Life and the National Right to Life Committee because of provisions that would lead to vastly increased federal funding of abortion and abortion mandates. The bill will now go straight to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The House vote was 219 to 212 in favor of the bill. All 219 votes in favor were cast by Democrats. Of the opposing (pro-life) votes, 178 were cast by Republicans and 34 by Democrats. The official roll call can be viewed here.
Virginia Society for Human Life President, Olivia L. Gans said, "We are truly saddened by the decision of Rep. Bart Stupak (D) to accept a compromise in the form of an executive order that does not address the major threats to innocent unborn baby’s lives still present in the Senate bill."
Lawmakers who voted for this bill voted to require federal agencies to subsidize and administer health plans that will pay for elective abortion, voted to undermine longstanding pro-life policies.
"The true tragedy is that not only will the people of America still be forced to pay for abortion though at least five different provisions in this bill, but that so many babies will die as a result." Gans said.
The executive order promised by President Obama was issued for political effect. It changes nothing. It does not correct any of the serious pro-abortion provisions in the bill. The president cannot amend a bill by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law says.
Seven ofVirginia's Members of Congress voted NO on the healthcare bill:
Rep. Whitman, District 1, Rep.Nye, District 2, Rep. Forbes, District 4, Rep. Goodlatte, District 6, Rep. Cantor, District 7, Rep. Boucher, District 9, and Rep. Wolf, District 10.
Four Virginia Members voted for the bill.
Rep. Scott, District 3, Rep. Perriello, District 5, Rep. Moran, District 8, and Rep. Connolly, District 11.
The Virginia Society for Human Life remains strongly opposed to the Health Care Bill. Pro-life citizens nationwide know that this is a pro-abortion bill. Pro-life citizens know, and they will be reminded again and again, which lawmakers deserve their gratitude for voting against the bill.
Virginia Society for Human Life is the oldest pro-life organization in the nation with chapters throughout the Commonwealth.
For immediate release:For more information:
Saturday, December 19, 2009Derrick Jones, (202) 642-1675 (mobile)
National Right to Life Committee statement on new Reid abortion language
WASHINGTON (December 19, 2009, 2:00 PM EST):
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right-to-life organizations in all 50 states, strongly opposes the abortion language contained in the "manager's amendment" filed today by U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nv.) Reid intends to press for Senate approval of the language during the days immediately ahead, without allowing an opportunity for any revisions to be considered.
The following statement may be attributed to NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson:
The manager's amendment is light years removed from the Stupak-Pitts Amendment that was approved by the House of Representatives on November 8 by a bipartisan vote of 240-194. The new abortion language solves none of the fundamental abortion-related problems with the Senate bill, and it actually creates some new abortion-related problems.
NRLC will score the upcoming roll call votes on cloture on the Reid manager's amendment, and on the underlying bill, as votes in favor of legislation to allow the federal government to subsidize private insurance plans that cover abortion on demand, to oversee multi-state plans that cover elective abortions, and to empower federal officials to mandate that private health plans cover abortions even if they do not accept subsidized enrollees, among other problems.
In addition, if the final bill produced by a House-Senate conference committee does not contain the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, NRLC will score the House and Senate votes on the conference report as votes to allow federal mandates and subsidies for coverage of elective abortion. Unless the Stupak-Pitts Amendment is included in the final bill, and the new pro-abortion provisions dropped, a significant number of House members who voted for H.R. 3962 will not vote to pass the final legislation.
A more detailed critique of the new Reid language will be posted on the NRLC website later today at http://www.nrlc.org/ahc
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512 10th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004
Manually Reposted on VSHL website on December 21, 2009
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Saturday, November 21, 2009 Derrick Jones, (202) 423-3329 (mobile)
You wanted debate? Now you'll get debate – on government-funded abortion.
WASHINGTON (November 21, 2009) -- The U.S. Senate tonight barely cleared an initial 60-vote procedural hurdle, setting the stage for a 2,074-page health care bill, crafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nv.), to move forward to debate before the full Senate. The following statement was issued by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right-to-life organizations in all 50 states, and may be attributed to NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson.
As National Right to Life has previously noted, Senator Reid's bill [on page 118] would authorize the federal government to pay for any and all abortions through a huge new federal health insurance program, the "public option," and also to subsidize purchase of private plans that cover abortion on demand. President Obama and Reid know that the substance of these abortion-promoting policies is deeply unpopular, so they seek to conceal the reality with layers of contorted definitions and money-laundering schemes.
Obama and Reid wanted debate – so now they’ll get debate, on their cloaked provisions that would cover abortion on demand in proposed new government-run and government-subsidized insurance plans.
Virginia Society for Human Life
6767 Forest Hill Ave., Suite 270 * Richmond, VA 23225
For immediate release: For more information, Contact:
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Olivia L. Gans
Margaret H. Disney
804-560-8745
U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules
in Favor of Protective Pro-Life Law
The Virginia Society for Human Life applauds the decision of the US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals today which upheld by a vote of 6 to 5 Virginia's Partial Birth Infanticide Ban. This vital piece of pro-life legislation protects the lives of unborn children from the gruesome procedure known as "partial birth abortion." During such an abortion a living late term unborn baby is partially removed from his/her mother's womb and the skull is punctured allowing the baby's brains to be sucked out.
The procedure also puts the baby's mother at grave risk of future complications both physical and psychological. It is a clear victory for the lives of babies and their mothers in Virginia that the Court has upheld this reasonable and important law.
"There is no doubt that the Virginia's Partial Birth Abortion Infanticide Ban will save the lives of hundreds of Virginia babies from this horrible and violent procedure. The mothers of these children deserve medical care that respect and protect their lives as well, rather then subject them to the dangers of abortion. Partial birth abortion is a deadly act that the people of Virginia have rightly rejected through the General Assembly and the Court was correct to uphold this important law," said Olivia Gans, president of the Virginia Society for Human Life.
VSHL is very grateful for the leadership of the office Attorney General of Virginia, in particular Mr. Bob McDonnell for successfully guiding this issue through the courts during his term of office.
Virginia Society for Human Life is the oldest pro-life organization in the nation with chapters throughout the Commonwealth.
WASHINGTON (July 8, 2009) – The Obama White House and Democratic congressional leaders are pushing hard for votes in late July on massive "health care reform" bills that contain provisions that would vastly expand access to abortion on demand, override state abortion laws, and establish federal funding of abortion.
Leading pro-abortion advocacy groups, including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), NARAL, the National Abortion Federation, and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, have made statements in recent days admitting that they hope to mandate "access" to abortion for "all women" through provisions of national health care restructuring legislation.
WASHINGTON – In his address to a joint session of Congress tonight, President Obama said, "One more misunderstanding I want to clear up -- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions."
Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, commented: "Barack Obama needs to learn that the mere repetition of a verbal formula does not change reality. The reality is that the Obama-backed House bill would explicitly authorize the federal government insurance plan to pay for elective abortions and would explicitly authorize subsidies for private abortion insurance -- and all with federal dollars, which are the only kind of dollars that the federal government can spend."
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) last week released definitive memoranda that demonstrate that (1) the "Hyde Amendment" would not apply to the new programs that would be created by the Obama-backed health bill, H.R. 3200, and (2) that all of the funds that would be spent on elective abortions under the bill, and all of the funds that would be spent to subsidize private insurance plans that cover abortion, would be "federal funds" in both the legal sense and in the sense in which those terms are used throughout the government.
"The claim that a federal agency would be spending private funds on abortion, not federal funds, is absurd on its face, a political hoax," Johnson said.
To read a September 8 NRLC media advisory that summarizes these issues, click here. The advisory contains links to the detailed memoranda that disprove the "Hyde Amendment myth" and the "government will spend private funds on abortions myth."
The National Right to Life Committee, the nation's largest pro-life group is a federation of affiliates in all 50 states and 3,000 local chapters nationwide.
WASHINGTON – In his address to a joint session of Congress tonight, President Obama said, "One more misunderstanding I want to clear up -- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions."
Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, commented: "Barack Obama needs to learn that the mere repetition of a verbal formula does not change reality. The reality is that the Obama-backed House bill would explicitly authorize the federal government insurance plan to pay for elective abortions and would explicitly authorize subsidies for private abortion insurance -- and all with federal dollars, which are the only kind of dollars that the federal government can spend."
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) last week released definitive memoranda that demonstrate that (1) the "Hyde Amendment" would not apply to the new programs that would be created by the Obama-backed health bill, H.R. 3200, and (2) that all of the funds that would be spent on elective abortions under the bill, and all of the funds that would be spent to subsidize private insurance plans that cover abortion, would be "federal funds" in both the legal sense and in the sense in which those terms are used throughout the government.
"The claim that a federal agency would be spending private funds on abortion, not federal funds, is absurd on its face, a political hoax," Johnson said.
To read a September 8 NRLC media advisory that summarizes these issues, click here. The advisory contains links to the detailed memoranda that disprove the "Hyde Amendment myth" and the "government will spend private funds on abortions myth."
The National Right to Life Committee, the nation's largest pro-life group is a federation of affiliates in all 50 states and 3,000 local chapters nationwide.
The so called "Freedom of Choice Act", FOCA, is the most dangerous, anti-life piece of federal legislation to be brought before Congress in the 35 year history following Roe v. Wade. Pro-life Virginians must become educated on this deadly bill before it is introduced into the new Congress.
Video:
President-Elect Barack Obama pledges to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) into law. Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest chain of abortion providers.
If enacted, the Freedom of Choice Act will:
nullify all federal state laws regulating abortion, including bans on partial-birth abortion, parental involvement laws and informed consent laws;
mandate taxpayer funding of abortion;
force all hospitals, including private, faith-based hospitals, to comply with the demands of FOCA; and
eliminate conscience protections for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers.
