Election of Jim Martin Over Saxby Chambliss in Georgia Would Promote Abortion

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 24, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Election of Jim Martin Over Saxby Chambliss in Georgia Would Promote Abortion

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 24
, 2008

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The 2008 elections aren’t complete as voters in Georgia will go to the polls on December 2 in a runoff election to determine whether pro-life Sen. Saxby Chambliss will go back to Washington. One pro-life group is urging voters to support Chambliss because his opponent, Jim Martin, is strongly pro-abortion.

Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, tells LifeNews.com that Chambliss has a perfect pro-life voting record throughout his service in the Senate.

Chambliss voted in favor of the federal ban on partial-birth abortion and voted for a bill to uphold state parental involvement laws so teenage girls aren’t taken out of state for secret abortions.

Johnson says his group is very worried about the prospect of Martin going to the U.S. Senate.

The biggest concern is that Martin would vote with his pro-abortion colleagues for the so-called Freedom of Choice Act, a bill that would legalize unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason.

The measure, which Barack Obama has said would be the first bill he would sign as president, would also overturn hundreds of pro-life laws throughout the country that reduce abortions — including limits on taxpayer-funding of abortion and allowing women a right to know about abortion’s risks and alternatives.

"After the new Congress convenes in January, pro- abortion lawmakers will attempt to establish federal funding for abortion on demand, and to roll back other pro-life policies," Johnson said. "We need Senator Chambliss back in the Senate to help resist this radical pro-abortion agenda, an agenda that Martin would fully support."

Johnson explained that FOCA would also make partial-birth abortions legal again.

Johnson points out that the Florida Times-Union called Martin, a former state lawmaker, "one of the legislature’s most outspoken abortion-rights advocates."

As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in 1997, Martin refused to allow a vote on a bill to ban partial-birth abortion, even after 13 of the 16 members on his committee had cosponsored the bill, Johnson explained.

The legislature’s Democratic leadership finally employed an unusual procedure to bypass Martin’s committee and allow a floor vote on the ban, which passed by a three-to-one margin (132-43), with Martin voting against it.

Martin was also out of step with most Georgia lawmakers on the question of parental notification before an abortion.

In 1988, the Georgia House passed legislation to require notification of a parent, or a waiver from a court, before an abortion could be performed on a minor. The bill passed by a 9-to-1 margin (142-16), with Martin one of the tiny minority of "no" votes.

Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com

Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report
Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.