327,653: the number of babies who did not get to experience a first Christmas last year thanks to Planned Parenthood. On average, taxpayers gave an enormous $528 million in 2013 to fund the inhumane killing of innocent babies. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, this year’s taxpayer-funded abortion rates may be even higher.
The upcoming March for Life theme “Every Life is a Gift” comes at an opportune time as the upcoming New Year will mark the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The act should have reinstated dignity to the lives of disabled people both young and old. Yet, babies diagnosed with a disability like Down syndrome in the womb are still being aborted at rates near 90 percent.
Sickening statistics such as these stress the important job legislators have to make sure that the 20-week abortion ban is passed into law. This act would prohibit the termination of a child’s life past 20 weeks gestation for any non-fatal reason—including diagnosed disabilities. According to disabilities groups, the majority of abortions typically occur after 20 weeks due to the fact that most disability testing procedures are done between 18 and 20 weeks gestation.
Regarding the new legislation, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Arizona) said, “[i]t is my prayer that…America finally opens her eyes to the humanity of these little victims and the inhumanity of what is being done to them.”
SIGN THE PETITION! Congress Must Ban Abortions Because Babies Feel Intense Pain
Richard Dawkins’ sparked uproar across America with his disgraceful statement in August that “it is immoral not to abort a baby with Down syndrome.” Comments like this saying that the lives of people with Down syndrome are miserable are absurd and false. In fact, 99 percent of people with the genetic disorder reported they were happy with their lives. Unfortunately, we as a society devalue their lives. There is no question whether or not having a disabled child will call for a sacrifice from parents. However, when asked whether babies with Down syndrome should be aborted, numerous parents say that is not even a question.
Take for example the parents of Melissa Reilly, who chose life and do not regret it. Their daughter Melissa went to college, interned for a state senator, and has taught numerous people valuable life lessons. One of those people is her mother, Annelies. Just like Annelies, 79 percent of parents said that their lives were more positive as a result of their child with Down syndrome.
Even more dangerous than Dawkins’ comments are the words of people like Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber, who have a major say in how taxpayer dollars are spent. In an interview, Gruber stated that abortion improves our nation’s economy and social environment. He argued that Obamacare’s legalization of abortion saves the government from paying those families welfare.
The government may not have to pay for welfare, but someone has to pay for all those abortions; that ‘someone’ is the taxpayer. To prove the vast amounts of money the government is willing to pay for abortions, the group Operation Rescue made a call to a New Mexico abortion clinic. A woman phoned the clinic pretending to be interested in aborting her baby, recently diagnosed with Down syndrome, at 30 weeks gestation. When asked if financial aid was available, the clinic responded that Medicaid would pay up to $16,000 in abortion cases such as this woman’s.
The truth is that Americans value life as a gift now more than ever.
60 percent of females and 53 percent of men said that they support the 20-week ban. Research confirms an unborn child has pain receptors and that by just 8 weeks after fertilization, the baby reacts to touch. At 20 weeks-gestation, babies have reacted to stimuli that would be recognized as painful to adults— reactions like recoiling. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) put it well in his announcement of the introduction of the Pain Capable bill,
“We’re choosing today to speak up for all babies at 20 weeks and try to create legal protections under the theory that if you can feel pain, the government should protect you from being destroyed by an abortion, which I imagine would be a very painful way to die.”
During life month make sure your state and federal representatives know that you, the taxpayer, are fed up with paying for abortions via the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood. Every life counts. We are the problem, not the children.
LifeNews Note: Penny Nance is the President and CEO of Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization. For more information visit concernedwomen.org.
