States begin 2015 with pro-life bills

Less than one month into the new year, and newly sworn in state legislatures across the country are already taking a stand for life.

In Pennsylvania, the same day radically pro-choice Governor Tom Wolf assumed office, pro-life State Senator John Eichelberger introduced the Conscientious Objection Act, which would allow health care providers to opt out of providing services that violate their conscience – such as abortion, birth control, and the morning-after pill – as well as legislation to prevent local municipalities from using public money for abortions in cases not authorized by state law.

In South Carolina last week, a House panel unanimously passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which creates a new compelling state interest in limiting abortions after 20 weeks.

An Indiana state senator has introduced a bill that would make it a felony for an abortion provider to perform an abortion knowing that the reason is either gender selection or a genetic mental or physical disability, such as Down syndrome.

In Kentucky, the State Senate, by an overwhelming majority, passed a bill requiring that an abortion provider and pregnant woman meet face-to-face at least 24 hours before the abortion. According to the bill’s sponsor, “[t]he importance of a face-to-face medical consultation prior to consenting to a surgical procedure is a widely accepted medical standard of care – and Kentucky wom[e]n deserve no less.”

Earlier this month, the pro-life New York State Senate successfully halted a measure that would have legalized abortions up to the moment of birth.

In Tennessee, pro-life state lawmakers announced during a press conference that they would support polices including informed consent and the requirement that abortion facilities be held to the same standards of health and safety as other outpatient surgical facilities.

And in Texas, State Representative Jeff Leach introduced a bill that would prohibit school sex education and health programs from using curricula created by “an entity or individual that performs abortions or an affiliate of an entity or individual that performs abortions.” It’s no secret that America’s largest abortion mill, Planned Parenthood, has a vested interest in sex education.

The tide has long been turning in favor of life across America, and the generation of Americans moving into leadership is increasingly pro-life. Indeed, according to a 2013 Gallup poll, 57 percent of Millennials believe that abortion should be either illegal in all circumstances or severely limited. Considering this, it’s no surprise that the pro-life trend will be reflected in state legislatures.

In other words, we can expect to see even more states stepping up to protect the lives that the Supreme Court so handily discarded 42 years ago.