After
Texas Governor Perry called for a special session to vote on HB 2, a
bill to protect preborn children from pain inflicted by abortion when
the child is 20 weeks gestational age, the bill was passed by a margin
of 19-11, marking an unparalleled
opportunity to protect innocent babies in Texas, while also protection
mothers.
To find out more about the bill, the controversy over it, and the
future implications of its passage see the New York Times article on it.
The bill will also increase safety standards for licensed abortion facilities, require that chemical induced (RU486)
abortions are performed by FDA standards to protect women’s health, and
will require physicians who perform abortions to be qualified to treat
life-threatening complications after a flawed abortion by having
privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the
abortion facility.
Advocates for both sides of the debate gathered at the Texas
capitol to provide testimony and support, but few expected the level of
public incivility that followed when in response to
#Stand4Life advocates pro-abortion activists throughout the day
shouted epithets in an effort to drown
out pro-life speeches and an impromptu rendering of "Amazing Grace." It
was clearly a spiritual battle as well as a political one. CNN's Josh
Rubin confirmed these events by
tweeting on site: "Crowd of anti-abortion activists giving speeches while a group of people chant 'hail Satan' in the background.”
Most Americans favor banning abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy, according to a new
HuffPost/YouGov poll. But the poll also shows many Americans remain conflicted in their views on abortion.
Texas’ decision to regulate the
off-label use of abortion-causing drugs
such as RU-486 is similar to a 2011 Oklahoma measure which is now being
reviewed by the Supreme Court of the United States (in a case known as
Cline
v. Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice).
Eight women have died from bacterial
infections following an RU-486 medical abortion administered according
to one of the off-label protocols, whereas no women have died from such
infections following use of the FDA-approved
protocol. Thus, the Oklahoma, and now Texas, Legislatures acted to
address this serious health and safety problem by requiring that RU-486
and other abortion-inducing drugs be administered according to the FDA's
prescribed protocol, though the Oklahoma Supreme
Court
held--without analysis or discussion--that the Oklahoma law is facially unconstitutional under
Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The U.S. Supreme Court
granted the state of Oklahoma's request
to review that decision, and asked the Supreme Court of Oklahoma to
answer whether the Oklahoma law prohibits: (1) the use of misoprostol to
induce abortions, including the use of misoprostol
in conjunction with mifepristone according to a protocol approved by
the Food and Drug Administration; and (2) the use of methotrexate to
treat ectopic pregnancies. This is an historic review, and the U.S.
Supreme Court has stayed further proceedings in this
case until they receive a response from the Supreme Court of Oklahoma.
The United States Congress will vote on the Pain-Capable Unborn
Child Protection Act (H.R. 1797) which states that because there is
substantial medical evidence that an unborn child is capable of
experiencing pain at least by 20 weeks after fertilization,
a compelling governmental interest exists in protecting unborn children
from this stage. Congressman Trent Franks (R-Az) who has sponsored the
bill stated, “Knowingly subjecting our innocent unborn children to
dismemberment in the womb, particularly when they
have developed to the point that they can feel excruciating pain every
terrible moment leading up to their undeserved deaths, belies everything
America was called to be. This is not who we are.”
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., introduced the
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to Congress in April. The
House approved the bill by a vote of 228-196. More information on it is available at CitizenLink.
All of these bills are pro-woman, pro-child, pro-science, and pro-family. Finally,
the Tenth Circuit Court of the United States provided an important
victory for Christian business owners
against the HHS Contraception Mandate, as Hobby Lobby and its sister
organization, Mardel, a Christian bookstores proprietor, were upheld in
their refusal to provide coverage of drugs they believe cause abortion
and, therefore, violate their religious beliefs.
The Tenth Circuit held "that Hobby Lobby and Mardel are entitled to
bring claims under RFRA (the Religious Freedom Restoration Act), have
established a likelihood of success that their rights under this statute
are substantially burdened by the contraceptive-coverage
requirement, and have established an irreparable harm. But we remand
the case to the district court for further proceedings on two of the
remaining factors governing the grant or denial of a preliminary
injunction.” The District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma subsequently granted the injunction.
Protecting lives of mothers and preborn children is a solid key to family restoration.
Texas made a bold step in that direction this past summer.
Congress and federal courts could follow.
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