Last week it was announced that the U.S. House of Representatives would vote on January 22nd - the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision
Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in the U.S.A. - on H.R.36, the
Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act sponsored by Representatives Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a piece of legislation that would make abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy once again illegal.
Initially, I thought it was nothing more than yet another Republican public relations stunt, especially given the hundreds of thousands of people - particularly young people - gathered now in the nation's capital for the
March for Life. Some small part of me, however, held out hope that this time they actually meant to do something significant toward upholding the natural moral law in our legal code. I was foolish.
Moments ago, on the eve of the announced vote,
Republican lawmakers decided to pull the vote. Out of fears they would lose the votes of women and young voters. Given
the data, this only shows how very much out of touch Republican politicians
are, and how lacking they are in integrity.
According to a recent CNN poll,
20% of Americans oppose all abortion and 38% oppose in most circumstances. That's right; the majority (58%) of Americans
oppose abortion. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.
Following a poll published in May 2010, Gallup described being pro-life as "
the new normal". In 1995, 33% of Americans identified themselves as being pro-life; in 2010, 47% identified themselves as being pro-life. (Remember, just five years later, 58% oppose abortion). In 2015, Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.
On the other hand, in the same poll, in 1995, 56% of Americans identified themselves as being pro-choice; in 2010, that percentage fell to 45%. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.
A recent poll from Marist University shows that
84% of Americans support a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. Faced with these results, even
Slate had to acknowledge that "even the most pro-choice people aren’t sold on abortion rights beyond the first trimester." Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.
A poll from Quinnipiac University found that
even 46% of democrats favor a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.
The same poll found that 56% of independents favor a ban on abortions after the 20th week pregnancy. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.
The same poll found that 57% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 and 61% of voters between the ages of 30 and 49 support a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregancy. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.
What is more, the same poll found that 61% of men and 59% of women support a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. Yet the Republicans are afraid of losing the vote. Cowards.
To be fair, President
Obama threatened to veto the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Some would say, then, that voting on the legislation would be a waste of time. To that claim, I answer that it would not at all be a waste of time. It would, rather, be an expression of the will of the people and this is never a waste of time. We do, after all, live in a representative republic and it is high time our politicians began governing with the will of the people instead of their own wills aimed only at re-election. It would also demonstrate to the voters that the Republicans mean what they say, which isn't the case at the moment.
In an effort to appease those of us who are furious at their cowardice and to make it look as though the Republicans actually care about being Pro-Life, they will vote instead (so they say, but what's to stop them from pulling this vote, too?) on the
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2015.
