National Education Association Defeats Measure to Take Neutral Abortion Stance

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jul 7, 2009   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

National Education Association Defeats Measure to Take Neutral Abortion Stance

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 7
, 2009

San Diego, CA (LifeNews.com) — During its national convention over the weekend, the National Education Association defeated a measure that would have had it take a neutral stance on abortion. The NEA has long supported abortion, pro-abortion candidates, and sponsored a forum with the former late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller.

On Sunday, NEA delegates defeated a proposal that pro-life teachers and educators hoped would make the group abortion neutral.

The bylaws amendment would have invalidated NEA Resolution I-16 which says the NEA "supports family planning, including the right to reproductive freedom," which is a code word for abortion.

The defeated proposal would have had the NEA take "no position" and would have prohibited the group from filing a Supreme Court brief supporting Roe v. Wade if the Supreme Court ever considers a case that would overturn the decision allowing virtually unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy.

It would have also prohibited the NEA from "lobbying for or against legislation regarding the dissemination of birth control information, the funding of birth control procedures, or the sale of birth control products."

Jeralee Smith, cofounder of the Conservative Educators Caucus within the NEA, told Baptist Press she was disappointed by the vote.

"Right now they say they have a neutral position on abortion," Smith said. "’No position’ means that they could be sued if there was any evidence that they were spending any money or making any effort to help the Roe v. Wade decision. So ‘no position’ is a much stronger retreat from the current position."

Smith told Baptist Press that the abortion neutralization amendment lost out by a 61-39 percent margin.

"If they had voted for it, they wouldn’t have been able to spend any money on abortion," she said. "But since they voted against it, it’s a much clearer case for anyone who wants religious accommodation, that the union supports abortion."

Because of the vote, Smith believes more teachers and school administration officials will leave the union, which has lost membership because of its pro-abortion views and other reasons.

Hundreds of pro-life advocates protested both the NEA convention and regional conventions state NEA groups held across the country over the weekend.

The educational organization came under fire last year for endorsing pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama and the union has upset pro-life advocates many times over the years by spending dues supporting pro-abortion candidates.

Most recently, the NEA received criticism from pro-life advocates when it hosted a forum featuring Tiller.

Related web sites:
Pro-Life Educators And Students – https://www.ProLifeEducators.com

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