Abortion activists are attacking Republicans this week for not including abortion funding in a bill to fight the Zika virus in the U.S.
The virus, a growing problem in Central and South America, has been linked to birth defects in newborns. Several countries have seen an alarming uptick in the number of babies born with microcephaly, a brain disorder that is not typically fatal but can cause health problems throughout the child’s life.
Abortion advocates have been using the link as an excuse to push for more abortions on babies with disabilities. Some pro-abortion groups even have been scaring women into aborting their unborn babies without knowing if they have Zika or if their unborn baby has a disability.
The U.S. House has been trying to pass a funding bill to provide aid for Zika prevention and research for a vaccine, but pro-abortion Democrats have been trying to block the effort because it does not include abortion funding.
This week, the House succeeded in passing a bill, but abortion activists are upset. Pro-abortion President Barack Obama even is threatening to veto the aid bill because it does not fund abortion groups, NBC reports.
After the vote, the radical pro-abortion group NARAL blasted pro-lifers for not encouraging U.S. women to abort their disabled babies. Its president, Ilyse Hogue, claimed that pro-life Republicans care “little for actual people’s lives.”
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Hogue continued: “This puts women’s lives—and the lives of children they may wish to have—in danger. What’s more, House Republicans’ constant claim that they’re out to ‘protect the unborn’ falls flat when this bill undercuts the very protections women need to bear healthy children. Instead of crafting a meaningful response to the crisis, House Republicans approved legislation that amounts to no more than window dressing.
“Women are rightfully terrified for their own health and their ability to bear healthy children in the midst of the Zika crisis, and this bill spits in the eyes of women and families across the country. NARAL will be using its resources to expose this disgusting but unsurprising hypocrisy because women and families deserve elected officials who actually look out for them.”
Earlier in June the Centers for Disease Control reported the first cases of babies with disabilities in the U.S. after their mothers contracted Zika. Three babies were born, while three others were aborted or miscarried, according to the CDC.
At least one U.S. mom has said yes to having her baby, despite being infected with Zika, LifeNews reported in May. Connecticut teen Sara Mujica believes her unborn baby’s life is a miracle.
The young mother said she plans to give birth to her baby no matter what. When Mujica was 15, she had meningitis, and doctors told her that she would never be able to get pregnant, she said.
“… so this is a big miracle for me,” she said of her unborn child.
Families who have experiences with microcephaly also are countering abortion activists’ fear mongering, saying that women should be offered education about the condition and support – not abortion.
Kansas mother Gwen Hartley, who has two daughters with microcephaly, said she initially struggled when she learned about her daughters’ diagnosis, but today she believes they are a huge blessing to her family.
She encouraged mothers not to throw away their unborn babies’ lives because they are afraid.
“In the beginning, I was crushed,” Hartley said. “… But if you open your mind enough, you realize your whole life is in preparation for this moment, and this moment will make you better.”
The fact that abortion activists believe people with disabilities like microcephaly should be targeted for abortion also is concerning to many disability rights advocates, even some who support abortion.
