The below post was submitted to me by one of the attendees at last Saturday’s Allen County Right to Life Legislative Forum. I was honored to play the part of moderator for the well-attended event.
Lawmakers Discuss Family Legislation before theIndiana General Assembly
Senate Leadership Solid in Support of Family Legislation, House Leadership to Act on Senate Bills in the Next 2-weeks
Saturday morning, Indiana legislators and third district Congressman Mark Souder attended the 6th annual Allen County Right to Life (ACRL) legislative forum on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary attended by a crowd of over 80 attendees who registered for the event. The annual event is a town hall forum where legislators have an opportunity to give the public an update on the status of pro-life/pro-family legislation before the Indiana General Assembly and take questions from the audience.
State Senate Pro Tem and Fort Wayne resident David Long headed the ticket of Hoosier legislators along with State Senator Dennis Kruse of Auburn, State Representative Randy Borror of the 84th District and Matt Bell, State Representative from District 83. The Governor, Mitch Daniels, Lieutenant Governor, Becky Skillman, and Secretary of State Todd Rokita all sent letters of greeting and encouragement to ACRL and those in attendance. State Representative Marlin Stuzman from District 52 was also scheduled to attend but cancelled due to sudden illness and Indiana Right to Life (IRTL) Legislative Liaison Sue Swayze, who works with the legislature on family and life issues, was also scheduled to be there but like Stuzman succumbed to sudden illness and could not attend. Whitley County Republican Party Chairman and ACRL Board Member, Jim Banks moderated the event.
Notable were the number of other elected officials and candidates also attending the event;
John Becker, former Indiana State Representative
Nelson Peters, Allen County Commissioner
Roy Buskirk, Allen County Councilman
Mitch Harper, Fort Wayne City Council Member
Bob Lee, Allen County Treasurer
Al Frisinger, Allen County Surveyor
Adam Mildred, Allen County Deputy Prosecutor
Mark Roach, Candidate for Whitley County Commissioner
Jim Banks, Candidate for Whitley County Council At-Large
Jim Howard, Candidate for Allen County Council At-Large
Dr. Dean Wenthe, President of Concordia Theological Seminary, welcomed all to the forum with an opening prayer and a Hebrew lesson on the difference between the Hebrew pronunciation of man and woman.
Though traditionally a State Legislative forum, US Representative Mark Souder attended and provided the group with a second installment of his pragmatic, however bleak, assessment of things in the US House of Representatives, his first installment provided two weeks earlier at the Allen County Right to Life Annual March for Life at the Masonic Auditorium. Congressman Souder acknowledged his Democratic challenger without mentioning his name, and appeared pleased with his own fundraising position to date, having raised more money at this time in his campaign than any time previously. Souder recognizes he will again be in for a fight in this year’s general election for the 3rd District Congressional seat.
Souder was guarded and cool on the prospect of McCain as the potential National Republican Party Nominee for President, and appeared clearly conflicted as many conservatives across the nation are at the prospect of a McCain presidency. Souder acknowledged the local Allen County Republican Party internal strife and compared it to the identity struggle the Party is facing nationally between conservatives and moderates, and urged everyone to take what small victories they can get, and not hold out for a pure result. Perhaps the best and most genuine recommendation Congressman Souder made during his remarks was his statement that, “Congress is a weather vane”. He went on to say, Congress runs for re-election every 2-years and they go whichever way the winds blow, so the best thing you all can do is blow.
Like weeks earlier at the March for Life, Souder seemed a little beleaguered and off his game. His rapid fire delivery didn’t suffer, nor did his encyclopedic grasp of details, but his focus, timing and ability to string together a coherent set of points was off. He seemed really weary.
ACRL Executive Director, Cathie Humbarger, briefly addressed the results of the Indiana Department of Health Inspection Report on the Fort Wayne abortion clinic. The report results from 2005 legislation ACRL and IRTL promoted in the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Mitch Daniels that requires abortion clinics in the State of Indiana to be held to the same standards as outpatient surgery centers. Copies of the report were made available and a 2-page extract of the results were provided with the information packets provided all attendees. Humbarger, standing in for Sue Swayze, went on to status each of the legislative initiatives promoted by ACRL and IRTL in this session of the Indiana General Assembly.
Legislation Supported by ACRL and IRTL
1. SB 146 – Written Consent Regarding Fetal Pain, Adoption, Life Begins at Fertilization and Hospital Admitting Privileges for Abortion Doctors
Passed the Senate and sent to the House
2. SB 3 – Pharmacists’ Conscience Clause
Passed the Senate and sent to the House
3. SB 187 – Fetal Development Bill
Passed the Senate and sent to the House
4. SB 147 – Abandoned Embryo Adoption
Withdrawn in the Senate with no vote, language to be refined
5. HB 1027 – Written Informed Consent in Spanish and English
Was not given a hearing in the House
6. HB 1126 – Wrongful Death of a Fetus
Was not given a hearing in the House
7. HB 1020 – Umbilical Cord Blood Bank
Withdrawn in the House with no vote
Legislation Opposed by ACRL and IRTL
1. SB 222 – Definition of Contraception
Was not given a hearing in the Senate
2. SB 327 – Parental Notice of Abstinence-Only Education
Was not given a hearing in the Senate
3. SB 2777 – Dispensing Drugs by Pharmacies
Was not given a hearing in the Senate
4. SB 311 – Medically Accurate Information in School Instruction
Was not given a hearing in the Senate
Humbarger thanked State Senator David Long for his leadership is passing family bills in the Senate, and urged everyone to contact Indiana House Speaker Pat Bauer to request that SBs 3, 146, and 187 are assigned and receive a hearing in the House.
Moderator Jim Banks then introduced the legislative panel and gave each of the lawmakers an opportunity to comment on activities in the Senate and House. Long, Kruse, Stuzman and Bell have been fixtures at this annual event over the last few years, Borror and Souder were new and welcome additions to this event in this election year.
Long and Kruse reviewed the strategy they used this year to move forward legislation and complemented ACRL for framing the issues and supporting the Senate debate on the issues with expert testimony on the subjects. They then turned it over to the “House Boys”, as Long referred to them, where Borror and Bell discussed the need for folks to write and contact Speaker Bauer’s office to have the legislation from the Senate be assigned and debated in the House of Representatives. Representative Borror took the opportunity to discuss how important it is to win back the Indiana House of Representatives. Borror went on to say that he believed there are 15 vulnerable districts where with a good Republican candidate and a focused effort, Republicans again could be in the majority in the House. He was particularly concerned about the results of redistricting in 2010 if Republicans did not prevail before then to take the House.
A brief question and answer session between attendees and the panel ensued for the next 20-minutes, and the event was wrapped up by Allen County Right to Life President, Fred Rost with a gracious thank you to all and a call to action; encouraging attendees to register to vote, file to run as precinct committeeman, and volunteer as part of the Allen County Right to Life Political Action Committee. He also mentioned an initiative ACRL has entered into with State Senator Dennis Kruse in establishing a Northeast Indiana Right to Life Organization that will include bringing together conservatives and pro-family/pro-life advocates in Noble, Steuben, LaGrange and DeKalb counties. An inaugural event is scheduled for April 21st at the Kruse WWII museum in Auburn.
All in all an impressive and informative 2½ hour session for conservatives to meet with and discuss family issues with their elected officials. A great election year showing of elected officials and candidates as well as a good crowd of active impassioned voters. Allen County Right to Life and its Political Action Committee continues to quietly and successfully promote pro-family and pro-life issues and legislation while also mobilizing conservative voters and its over 12,000 members to engage in the political process. A great event.
