Pence Continues To Champion the Unborn

On November 7th Rep. Mike Pence introduced legislation into the House that would deny federal Title X funds to abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood. Earlier this year it was Pence who led what has been called one of the biggest pro-life battles of this Congress when he introduced an amendment to an appropriations bill stripping Title X funds from Planned Parenthood.

The amendment was ultimately defeated but it provided a very definite and clear choice for newly elected and newly returning Democrats to prove that they were indeed pro-life. Of Indiana’s three “new” Democratic congressmen, two voted for the Pence amendment and one voted against. That one “no” vote came from Rep. Baron Hill (D), who has stated that he is pro-life and pro-choice and that he doesn’t support overturning Roe v. Wade. How he reached that conclusion is rather interesting and perhaps it can be best explained by assuming that Rep. Hill is a very political individual who follows this reasoning:

Elected Official speaking to Constituents: “Some of my friends are for this bill, some of my friends are against this bill. I stand by my friends.”

But to get back to the Pence bill, the measure will insure that no family planning agency that provides abortions will receive federal tax dollars through the Title X funding mechanism. Already there is a ban in place preventing family planning groups from using tax dollars to perform abortions, however, federal funds can be used for such things as office expenses and other overhead.

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It should be noted that contrary to some of the alarmist arguments raised during the amendment debate earlier this year, the Pence measure does not deny anyone access to family planning services. According to the Pence office, in every locality where abortion providing family planning agencies are, there are alternative private and governmental agencies that are ready to assist individuals in ways that respect the sanctity of human life.

The ideal thing to do for taxpayers would be to deny federal funding of family planning agencies altogether. The funding is not consistent with the founder’s intentions when they wrote the general welfare clause of Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States. Since it is not probable that this aspect of the federal government will brought into line with the principles intended in the Constitution, Pence’s attempt to at least insure that federal dollars do not fund groups that promote an anti-life viewpoint is laudable.

Some may argue that there are other important issues facing Congress and Rep. Pence is merely trying to take a single “wedge” issue and build up his reputation in his conservative district as a champion of traditional values. While the issue of abortion has been around a long time, it is no less an important issue today than when individuals began to realize the horrible implications of Roe v. Wade.

Today America is engaged in a battle against an enemy who is defined by it’s ideology of death. If we are to have the moral authority to defeat this enemy in the battle of ideas we are going to have to respect each stage of life. The debate over abortion is, at its root, not a debate about the right of privacy or a woman’s right to choose, but instead a debate about whether we will sacrifice the lives of some of the most vulnerable in the name of convenience and expediency.

Speaking of pro-life battles, Mike Fichter, Executive Director of Indiana Right To Life, released this statement on the passing of the pro-life warrior, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL):

“Henry Hyde’s rich legacy of defending the sanctity of life will long be remembered by all who reflect upon his years of unwavering commitment to the rights of unborn children. We have lost a true champion for the right to life of all persons, born and unborn. The most enduring tribute to his life will be for today’s pro-life champions in Congress to carry on his work until the life of every unborn child is protected by law.”