Pro-Life Groups Continue Campaigns to Stop Pro-Abortion Freedom of Choice Act
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 28, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The call at most of the pro-life events over the last two weeks was clear: pro-life advocates need to continue the campaign to oppose the so-called Freedom of Choice Act. At Catholic churches, pro-life advocates sent hundreds of thousands of postcards to Congress and pro-life groups are asking activists to do more.
Brad Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute, saysFOCA has yet to receive a vote in Congress, which he says gives pro-life people time to contact their elected officials now and urge opposition.
"Our efforts to fight FOCA are beginning to bear fruit. Collectively, pro-lifers are making enough noise that we’ve given the President and pro-abortion leaders in Congress second thoughts about moving forward with FOCA in its entirety," he said.
"We can’t let up on continuing to make noise about FOCA," he added.
That opposition is based on the fact that FOCA would make unlimited abortions a national law but also overturn hundreds of pro-life laws across the country that ban partial-birth abortions, allow parental involvement or stop taxpayer funded abortions.
“FOCA, the Freedom of Choice Act, would kick to the curb every protective law that has been passed by Congress, state legislatures, or local communities," Mattes explained. "As a result, it’s being seen as too radical for too many Americans."
Pro-life leaders say the pro-life movement may have its best hope of stopping the bill from reaching President Barack Obama, who promised Planned Parenthood during the presidential campaign he would sign it, in the Senate. There, pro-life senators could use a filibuster to hold up the bill and require pro-abortion lawmakers to secure 60 votes to approve it.
Mattes is also concerned that abortion advocates may try to approve FOCA with a piecemeal strategy.
"The president and pro-abortion leaders of Congress are looking at plans to pass FOCA, piece-by-piece, attached to other bills. This could be devastating for the babies because it would make it easier for their abortion agenda to get lost in a larger bill," he tells LifeNews.com.
"Our job is to alert federal lawmakers, Americans and the media that FOCA is present every time that they propose legislation with parts of it embedded," he said.
Mattes says legislators who may not normally vote pro-life could be persuaded to oppose FOCA with a monumental grassroots campaign that equals or beats the campaigns to approve the partial-birth abortion ban.
Life Issues Institute, and other pro-life groups, are sponsoring petitions people can sign that are presented to legislators and pro-life advocates are also urged to contact their senators and representative directly.
"That’s why this petition against FOCA is so critically important to fighting it because no matter what form it takes, we need to let Congress know that a majority of Americans oppose this radical pro-abortion agenda," he concludes. "We must continue making noise by letting our pro-life voices be heard."
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