Ever since the heinous crimes of abortionist and convicted killer Kermit Gosnell first came to light, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has been under special scrutiny with regard to how it deals with the abortion industry.
A grand jury surmised that Gosnell had killed hundreds of full-term babies, but he was ultimately convicted of the deaths of three, along with the death of a female immigrant patient.
The grand jury made it clear in its report that pro-abortion politics—specifically the pro-abortion stands of former Governors Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell—had given rise to a culture in which abortion facilities were not inspected, lawsuits against abortionists were ignored, and gross violations of law and human decency went unchallenged.
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But pro-abortion politicians have been imploding in Pennsylvania. In 2014, 100 percent of the pro-life legislative candidates endorsed by the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation PAC won their offices.
In February, pro-abortion former state Treasurer Rob McCord pleaded guilty to attempted extortion, after admitting that he had pressured state contractors into making contributions to his ill-fated Gubernatorial campaign.
And now, pro-abortion Attorney General Kathleen Kane—once hailed as a possible future U.S. Senate candidate, or perhaps even a Presidential candidate—has been charged with multiple crimes stemming from allegations that she leaked information from a grand jury in an effort to silence her critics.
A headline in the hometown Harrisburg newspaper, the Patriot-News, is especially telling: “It’s such a blow to women.”
But the fact of the matter is that Kane’s policy stands themselves were a blow to women. She was a vocal opponent of pro-life legislation. She had the full support of the radical pro-abortion PAC known as Emily’s List. In 2013, the President of Emily’s List told the Washington Post, “We were proud to support her in her race for Attorney General because she is a rising star – and she has the experience and guts a person needs to take a spot on the presidential ticket in 2020 or 2024.”
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The rising star is crashing and burning, and now Democratic leaders worry her fall from grace could affect the electoral chances of Pennsylvania Democrats in 2016.
Legislative leaders had asked Kane to investigate Planned Parenthood after undercover videos showed Planned Parenthood doctors callously discussing the harvesting of baby body parts. Kane seemed uninterested. Pro-lifers also worried that, if pro-life legislation were to be passed at the state level, Kane would refuse to defend the law, since she had a habit of picking and choosing which laws she was willing to uphold.
As a reporter, before I joined the pro-life movement, I puzzled over the primacy of the pro-life issue in the votes cast by many Americans. Our nation faced so many problems—unemployment, the cost of living, national security issues, education. Why make pro-life the top concern?
I came to realize that there is no better barometer of judging a candidate than the pro-life issue. For if an office holder is willing to advocate for laws that fail to protect our most vulnerable citizens, how can we reasonably expect that politician to deal justly and ethically with the other issues that might come to his or her desk? Without the right to life, the other rights we as Americans hold dear are virtually meaningless. It is not that pro-life candidates are perfect, or that they won’t make mistakes, but they demonstrate a basic character trait that is essential for public service: a profound concern for the common good and a deep and abiding respect for innocent human life.
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Pennsylvania is one of those swing states that will once again be in play in the Presidential contest in 2016. It is too soon to say what impact the “Kane effect” could have on the Presidential race in the Keystone State. But pro-abortion candidates such as Hillary Clinton may have good reason to worry. After all, her husband campaigned for Kane.
LifeNews.com Note: Maria Gallagher is an opinion columnist for LifeNews.com. She is the Legislative Director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and Vitale has written and reported for various broadcast and print media outlets, including National Public Radio, CBS Radio, and AP Radio.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane arrives to be processed and arraigned on charges she leaked secret grand jury material and then lied about it under oath, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015, at the Montgomery County detective bureau in Norristown, Pa. Kane, the states first elected female attorney general, vows to fight the charges, which include perjury, obstruction and conspiracy. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
