By Dave Andrusko
Editor’s note. The following appeared in the Special October Election Issue of National Right to Life News.
“Historic” is a much overused term, but nothing less captures what is at stake as pro-life President Donald Trump battles pro-abortion former vice president Joe Biden, the titular head of party that is pro-death from the top of their collective head to the sole of their feet.
Below you’ll find just a partial list of all that “the most pro-life President since Roe v. Wade” has accomplished as well as what he has promised to make good if Republicans control both Houses of Congress. Honestly, it is incredibly impressive.
*Judiciary. As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on October 26, under President Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate, there have been three Supreme Court confirmations in the past four years. That didn’t just happen. Three superb justices-Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch- were nominated by a pro-life Republican President and confirmed by a Senate piloted by great pro-life leadership. In addition, President Trump has made 235 federal judicial appointments, which “have impacted the court for generations to come,” to quote Sen. McConnell.
* Bulwark against the Nancy Pelosi-led House of Representatives. In January of 2019, when pro-abortion Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, President Trump issued a letter stating, “I am concerned that this year, the Congress may consider legislation that could substantially change federal policies and laws on abortion, and allow taxpayer dollars to be used for the destruction of human life. I will veto any legislation that weakens current pro-life federal policies and laws, or that encourages the destruction of innocent human life at any stage.”
*Protecting abortion survivors and preemies. President Trump signed an executive order that prohibits hospitals from unlawfully discriminating against or withholding treatment from extremely preterm infants, infants born with disabilities, or any other infants in need of emergency care, including abortion survivors. As the President has said, “Equality under the law is the bedrock of our society.”
*Making Planned Parenthood choose between abortion and genuine family planning. In 2019, President Trump’s Health and Human Services Department(HHS) issued regulations known as the Protect Life Rule. Under the rule, abortion facilities may not be in the same location where family planning services are delivered. The rule also states that Title X grantees may not refer for elective abortion. Not surprisingly, Planned Parenthood sued. Eventually they chose not to participate rather than cut their abortion ties.
*If given the chance … President Trump has vowed to protect babies capable of feeling pain. He has also vowed to sign, if passed, 1. The No-Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2019 which would permanently prohibit any federal program from funding elective abortion and 2. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act which would extend federal legal protection to babies who are born alive during an abortion
*March for Life. On January 25th, 2020, the day the Movement commemorated 47 years under the dreaded Roe v. Wade decision, President Trump became the first sitting President to address the annual March for Life in person. He told the massive crowd in Washington, DC, “All of us here today understand an eternal truth: Every child is a precious and sacred gift from God. Together, we must protect, cherish, and defend the dignity and sanctity of every human life. When we see the image of a baby in the womb, we glimpse the majesty of God’s creation.”
*Aggressively protects right of conscience. HHS, under President Trump, created a New Office of Conscience and Religious Freedom. The department (OCR) finalized new regulations to strengthen enforcement of federal laws protecting the conscience rights of health care workers who do not want to participate in abortion. The regulations clarify what recourse is available to victims of discrimination under the law and what penalties the OCR may enforce for violations.
*Defunding international abortion. President Trump stopped Tax Dollars from Funding Abortion Internationally by reinstating the long-standing “Mexico City Policy,” and then expanding it under the “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance” program. Under the latter, in order to be eligible for U.S. population assistance, a private organization must sign a contract promising not to perform abortions (except to save the mother’s life or in cases of rape or incest), lobby to change the abortion laws of host countries, or otherwise “actively promote abortion as a method of family planning. The expanded policy prevents $9 billion in foreign aid from being used to fund the global abortion industry.
*Speaking up forcefully at the United Nations. On September 24th, 2019, in what was a first for a sitting U.S. president, President Trump spoke directly at the U.N. about the issue of abortion. He said,
“Americans will also never tire of defending innocent life. We are aware that many United Nations projects have attempted to assert a global right to taxpayer-funded abortion on demand, right up until the moment of delivery. Global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life. Like many nations here today, we in America believe that every child, born and unborn, is a sacred gift from God.”