Democratic Rep Promises Retribution Probe on Pro-Abortion Kenya Constitution
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 13, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — After pro-life members of Congress cried foul when it appeared the Obama administration illegally spent as much as $10 million supporting the campaign for a pro-abortion constitution in Kenya, now a pro-abortion member of Congress is calling for an investigation as well.
Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island appears to be calling for a retribution probe of pro-life groups supporting the No campaign, even though there is nothing illegal about them getting involved.
The battle revolves around the draft Constitution voters in Kenya will consider at the polls next month that would topple the African nation’s historic pro-life laws protecting women and unborn children.
Kennedy claimed yesterday in an interview with The Standard, a Kenyan newspaper, that Christians in Kenya are conspiring with pro-life groups in the United States to mount a campaign against the constitution.
"The moral outrage of the Church should be on infant mortality occurring from preventable causes and poverty," Kennedy said, making it appear their opposition to the pro-abortion provisions are misplaced.
Kennedy told the newspaper he would write to the Congressional Oversight Committee this week seeking a full disclosure of groups in the United States that have provided funding for groups in Kenya opposing the constitution.
"We will write to the Committee on Oversight to ask for a hearing on all money donated to the ‘No’ campaign," he said and added that about $250,000 has been disbursed to the organizations urging a no vote. "We will seek a subpoena to bring in folks involved. We need to know who they are."
Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota congressman, told the newspaper he will support such an inquiry.
"Abortion is extremely polarizing in America and opponents of President Obama are using it to attack the President," Ellison said.
The Obama administration has come under question from members of the U.S. Congress for allegedly spending as much as $10 million on an educational campaign designed to support the document.
Yesterday, the United States embassy in Kenya issued a statement saying the administration is not spending taxpayer dollars funding a campaign to support the constitution.
While Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have lent their support to the voting process, they have carefully couched their language in terms of supporting the constitutional review process rather than urging support for the document itself.
The proposed new Kenyan constitution concerns pro-life and church groups both locally and around the world because provisions in it would overturn the current legal protections women and unborn children enjoy and would essentially authorize unlimited abortions despite the pro-life cultural views of most Kenyans.
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