Federal Government Out of Step with Pro-life America

By 

Jordan Sekulow

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December 15, 2011

3 min read

Pro Life

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A paradox of sorts is developing between the ways the federal government, as executed by the Obama administration, and the state governments, the governments closest to the people, view the lives of the unborn and those committed to defending those most defenseless in our society.

Over the past year, more and more states have enacted legislation aimed at protecting the unborn and women’s health. In fact, over 22 states have enacted legislation imposing strict regulations on abortion clinics, and when we say strict, we mean that for the first time abortion clinics will have to meet the minimum competency standards for safety that other surgical medical facilities must operate under.

This week, Mississippi voters are on the verge of passing a “personhood” amendment to their state constitution, which would define a “person” as “every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof.” It would afford every “person” in Mississippi the basic protections of the law, such as the right to life.

Ohio Governor John Kasich just signed a new parental consent bill into law, strengthening the state’s parental consent statute by requiring “clear and convincing evidence” to obtain a judicial override where a parent refuses to consent for an abortion.

Many other states are also considering pro-life legislation, such as fetal “heartbeat” legislation. Several other states have gone so far as to defund Planned Parenthood, and the ACLJ is involved in defending the right of these states to defund the abortion provider.

With these huge legislative strides at the state level and polling showing that more and more Americans consider themselves to be pro-life, it may be surprising that the federal government, led by the Obama administration, continues to push an anti-life agenda.

When the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill, the Protect Life Act, last month to strip abortion funding from ObamaCare, the Obama administrationimmediately threatened a veto.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also issued strict new regulations aimed at religious organizations in an attempt to require them to provide health insurance for their employees that covers contraceptives and other drugs and services that may violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.

In addition, the Justice Department has recently chosen to prosecute an elderly pro-life advocate for standing on a sidewalk near an abortion clinic to share his pro-life message with those seeking an abortion, while giving a person who assaulted the man a cakewalk.

These are just a few of the outrageous examples of our federal government and the Obama administration pushing a radical anti-life agenda on the American people. As social conservatives, we must continue to take a stand against this radical agenda and voice our support for the sanctity of human life.

It is clear that the American people are on the side of life, but there is still much work to be done in order to protect the unborn.

This article co-authored by ACLJ attorney Matthew Clark, is crossposted on Jordan's Washington Post blog, Religious Right Now, and register to leave your comment.