Standing Up for Life Against Pro-Abortion Bureaucrats
Every 20 seconds, an abortion is performed in the United States. In the amount of time that it took me to write this blog post, roughly 360 American babies lost their lives, and in the amount of time that it will take you to read it, another 30 to 45 babies will have died.
While the pro-life movement is gaining ground, pro-abortion radicals are consistently attacking laws that are enacted to protect life. Last year on May 12th, Virginia’s pro-abortion governor, Terry McAuliffe, pushed his extremist agenda by ordering the Virginia Board of Health to review newly enacted abortion clinic regulations—regulations that are required by Virginia law. These regulations were implemented to save lives and protect women and children from deadly abortionists.
In response to the Governor’s directive, the ACLJ submitted its public comment detailing the legal ramifications of the Governor’s order and the necessity for the regulations as evidenced by the plethora of egregious health code violations by Virginia abortion clinics. These violations included, among other things, unsanitized equipment, expired drugs, and surfaces such as sinks, tables, chairs, and freezers with dried blood on them.
In December 2014, I attended a Virginia Board of Health meeting where—under the advice of a McAuliffe-appointed Health Commissioner—the Board voted to move forward with the process of reviewing the regulations. Prior to the Board’s vote, however, one board member mentioned that despite multiple requests, the Board had not yet been provided with copies of the abortion clinics’ health inspection reports. Erik Bodin, Director of the Office of Licensure and Certification, stated that it might not be possible for the Board of Health to review the health inspection reports because of “privacy concerns.” What? That’s completely wrong!
The Board of Health, which is responsible for “suggest[ing] legislative action deemed necessary for the better protection of life and public health,” should indisputably have access to records that influence those decisions and suggestions. If that meeting is any indication of the communication that occurs between the Board of Health, the Health Commissioner, and the Office of Licensure, then the Board has only been provided with information that pushes a pro-abortion agenda.
Yet the Board—many of whom are also McAuliffe appointees—voted to review legally required regulations put in place to end the very violations that it had not yet reviewed. How can an unelected board of officials adequately protect life and public health when it fails both to support the law and recognize the dangers that under-regulated health facilities pose to the public? It can’t.
The Virginia Board of Health meets again in June to discuss how the regulations can be altered. As it has for the last 25 years, the ACLJ will be there to continue as a voice for the unborn and stand against the pro-abortion agenda that is being pushed by both our elected officials and their unelected appointees.
To find out more about how unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats are infringing upon your constitutional freedoms, visit www.UndemocraticBook.com. Number 1 New York Times Bestselling Author Jay Sekulow’s new book, “Undemocratic,” exposes how bureaucrats, like the ones in Virginia, area stealing your liberty, but more importantly he lays out how we can take our Republic back. Pre-order your copy today:
