Abortion Advocates May Try Low-Key Piecemeal Strategy for Approving FOCA
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 2, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Since pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama became the president, the number one warning from pro-life groups has concerned the radical Freedom of Choice Act.
To counter the outpouring of opposition and make it more palatable for members of Congress, it appears abortion advocates may try to split up the FOCA bill into pieces to make it easier to pass.
That’s the concern of Charmaine Yoest , the president of Americans United for Life.
Yoest writes that abortion advocates may even go as far as trying to convince the public they are not interested in passing the bill, which would make unlimited abortions the national law and overturn hundreds of pro-life laws in all 50 states.
"Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, and others are saying that they aren’t going to try to pass the ‘Freedom of Choice Act’ (FOCA)," Yoest says. "Don’t believe it for a second. If your opponent gives up the frontal attack . . . you better start watching your flank."
"We are now seeing the abortion forces waging an incremental battle — working to pass what we have termed ‘FOCA-by-Stealth,’" she explains. "They think that if they take FOCA and repackage it and pass it in pieces and under different names . . . that we won’t notice."
Yoest’s concerns mirror those of Brad Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute.
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.
The two groups are sponsoring petitions pro-life people can sign that are presented to legislators and pro-life advocates are also urged to contact their senators and representative directly.
"No matter what form it takes, we need to let Congress know that a majority of Americans oppose this radical pro-abortion agenda," Mattes says. "We must continue making noise by letting our pro-life voices be heard."
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