Accusations are flying that Republican efforts to pass pro-life legislation are incongruent with campaign promises and intended to appease their socially conservative voting base.
Senator Patty Murray said that “Congressional Republicans who vowed to come to Washington and focus like a laser on the economy are instead focusing like a laser on social issues.” Further, Larry Sabato, who heads the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics stated that pro-life legislation is, “one of those bones the Republicans throw to their social conservative base every now and then.”
Huh? How is cutting the 363 million dollars that goes to Planned Parenthood every year unrelated to the economy? Is it really unreasonable for congress, as it determines where to make spending cuts, to start with a federally funded program that a 2009 Quinnipiac poll showed 72% of Americans do not support? Numbers like that ought to be sufficient to dispel any claims that these bills only appeal to a ‘socially conservative base’. There are many libertarians who don’t give a hoot about social issues, but also do not consider funding abortions as a proper role of government.
Essentially, these bills reflect the will of the American people and do fulfill campaign promises to cut spending. Further, such bills transcend social and fiscal agendas because they are defunding organizations that have consistently and repeatedly broken the law. Whether or not United States tax-dollars ought to support criminal organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, should not be considered as a partisan issue.
In their accusations, those pro-abortion advocates have once again forgotten a simple rule of intellectual debate: think before you speak.
The SBA Pro-Life America National Pro-life Scorecard is a tool that helps hold members of Congress accountable for their legislative records on life and that highlights leadership in the fight to serve women and save babies.
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