Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski lost his primary election to pro-abortion challenger Marie Newman on Tuesday after abortion advocacy groups dumped huge amounts of money into the race.
Lipinski was one of the last pro-life Democrats in Congress, and several pro-life groups supported his re-election campaign. Now, just two pro-life Democrats remain in the House, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas.
“We were very proud to endorse Dan,” said Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America. “There has been a systematic effort by the abortion lobby to bully pro-life Democrats into voting against their conscience. Shamefully, many Democrats cave. I am extremely proud of Dan for sticking to his principles, even in the face of threats and millions of dollars of outside spending by the abortion lobby.”
CNN reports Newman won 47.6 percent of the vote to Lipinski’s 44.1 percent. The news outlet speculated that fears about the coronavirus and Illinois politicians’ decision not to delay the election could have been a factor. It noted that Lipinski’s supporters tend to be older, and older Americans are at greater risk of the virus.
Newman received endorsements from a number of high-profile Democrat politicians, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The abortion advocacy groups EMILY’s List, NARAL and Planned Parenthood spent $1.4 million to elect her, according to CNN. Other political groups backed by billionaire George Soros also poured money into supporting Newman.
Follow LifeNews.com on Instagram for pro-life pictures and videos.
A radical “progressive,” Newman supports unlimited abortion on demand and wants to force taxpayers to pay for them. She also supports Medicaid for All, which would force taxpayers to pay for elective abortions.
“We need a real Democrat with a real plan,” Newman said Friday, implying that “real” Democrats are not pro-life.
It appeared that Lipinski’s party — which has grown increasingly extreme on abortion — also wanted him gone. According to CNN: “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has promised to blacklist all consultants who work for primary candidates against incumbents. But Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, the chair of the committee, was forced to cancel a fundraiser with Lipinski last year because of pressure from the left.”
Unlike his party, Lipinski remained committed to protecting the rights of unborn babies. During his eight terms in Congress, he maintained a strong pro-life voting record. In January, he was one of only two Democrats who signed an amicus brief calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade when it rules on a Louisiana abortion case later this year. He also was one of just three House Democrats (Cuellar and Peterson were the others) who supported the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have prohibited abortions after 20 weeks when unborn babies can feel pain.
A March polling by Women Speak Out PAC found that 75 percent of likely Democrat voters in Lipinski’s district support protections for babies who survive failed abortions. Additionally, 44 percent support restrictions on abortion after the first trimester and 45 percent oppose taxpayer funding of abortion. National polling also shows that more than half of Democrats support limiting painful late-term abortions, including millennials (78 percent), African Americans (70 percent), and Hispanics (57 percent).
Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, whose organization supported Lipinski, described him as a “pro-life hero” because he represented voters, not the abortion industry.
“We offer condolences to our friend Congressman Lipinski, who fought fiercely and admirably in this race, and to the pro-life citizens of his district who have lost a champion,” Dannenfelser said. “Congressman Lipinski has long been a profile in courage, bucking the sad trend of Democrat leaders vying to be the greatest advocate of abortion.”
Lipinski’s pro-life record does not jive with an increasingly pro-abortion Democratic Party. The party platform boasts a radical pro-abortion agenda that supports abortion on demand without limits. In 2012, Democrat leaders removed the word “rare” from their abortion platform, and, in 2016, added language calling for taxpayer-funded abortions.
