In about six months, Americans will pick a new president. On one hand, there’s Donald J. Trump, a man who says he’s pro-life but who’s given pro-lifers some cause for concern. He’ll probably face former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, someone opposed to limiting when abortions can take place and who voted against the 2003 partial-birth abortion ban.
While those options have left some feeling unenthused, the presidential race isn’t the only one with consequences.
Supreme Court appointments are made “with the Advice and Consent of the Senate.” Justice Antonin Scalia’s death left an opening on the bench, and there will probably be more over the next four years. Given the Court’s current balance, it’s crucial that senators don’t let the wrong people fill them.
Further, Congress has the power to defund Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion chain. Planned Parenthood receives over half a billion dollars in federal funding, money that should go to federally qualified health centers (FQHC) and community health centers (CHCs) instead. Not only are FQHCs and CHCs more accessible than Planned Parenthood, but they offer services that Planned Parenthood doesn’t. An added bonus? They don’t have a history of hiding rape and abuse.
Congress can also investigate and conduct hearings. Those hearings have exposed the abortion industry’s shameful reality, and pro-lifers want them to continue.
But it’s not just federal elections that are important. At the state level, pro-lifers are fighting to stop things like coerced abortion and gendercide. Protecting pain capable children is another priority. Research by Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand at the University of Tennessee indicates a fetus can feel pain by twenty weeks. That’s important when you consider what a twenty week abortion looks like.
After the amniotic fluid is removed, the abortionist uses a sopher clamp — a grasping instrument with rows of sharp “teeth” — to grasp and pull the baby’s arms and legs, tearing the limbs from the child’s body. The abortionist continues to grasp intestines, spine, heart, lungs, and any other limbs or body parts. The most difficult part of the procedure is usually finding, grasping and crushing the baby’s head. After removing pieces of the child’s skull, the abortionist uses a curette to scrape the uterus and remove the placenta and any remaining parts of the baby.
There’s a lot you can say about who’s running for office. One thing you can’t say? That what happens in November won’t matter. It’s a fact pro-lifers shouldn’t forget.
