|
|
|
|
Pro-abortion Components of
ObamaCare Debated in and out of Court
Part Four of Four By Dave Andrusko Debate over ObamaCare is alive and well in a suburb of Washington, DC, but is not so healthy in Ohio. Pro-abortion incumbent Democrat Gerry Connolly, in a tough rematch with pro-life Republican Keith Fimian, is complaining to the always sympathetic Washington Post that NRLC's characterization of his vote for ObamaCare is "flat-out false," according to the Post's Jake Gibson.
On Monday Judge Timothy Black of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio rejected a request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Rep. Driehaus and the Ohio Elections Commission. A three-member panel of the Commission had voted 2-to-1 to find "probable cause" to believe that the Susan B. Anthony List's claims violate Ohio's election laws. The group's billboards (which have not yet been posted, thanks to Driehaus's legal threats) say, "Shame on Steve Driehaus! Driehaus voted FOR taxpayer-funded abortion"--a reference to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) which we call ObamaCare. The merits of the case were not addressed by Judge Black, who said, "federal judges may not intervene in the proceedings of state courts or agencies unless a party faces immediate, irreparable harm," according to the Enquirer. "In this case, he said, the commission has not prevented the group from erecting the billboards and has not barred any candidate from participating in the election." Black wrote, "The commission is simply exercising its statutory duty to determine whether a certain political advertisement ... violates Ohio's false statement law." Technically, it is true that the Commission did not prevent the billboards from going up, but, as the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA) told the Cincinnati Enquirer, "the owner of the billboards refused to post them because he feared becoming entangled in the dispute." In addition to Johnson's sworn affidavit, the ACLU also weighed with a 17-page brief that supports the legal position articulated by SBA's attorney. In its brief the ACLU says the law that the SBA is accused of violating "is vague and overbroad, and it cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. The statute fails for the same reasons that the Sedition Act has been condemned by history. The people have an absolute right to criticize their public officials, the government should not be the arbiter of true or false speech and, in any event, the best answer for bad speech is more speech." Please send your comments on Today's News & Views and National Right to Life News Today to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha. |
NRLC's
brochure says the freshman Democrat's vote "for the Obama health
care law," was a vote for a law that "will provide government
funding for health plans that pay for abortion on demand..." In
fact that is exactly what Connolly voted for, as NRLC
Legislative Director Douglas Johnson demonstrated in a 23-page
sworn affidavit, accompanied by 16 supporting documents, for a
case brought by Ohio Rep. Steve Driehaus (D) against a pro-life
PAC.