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But 154 Voters Will Have to Explain to Their Constituents Why They Voted to Support the Current D.C. Policy of Legal Abortion for Any Reason Until Birth

In a landmark vote, a solid majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to reject the current abortion policy of the District of Columbia, which permits legal abortion for any reason until birth, and to replace it with a law that would generally prevent abortion after 20 weeks fetal age.

The legislation is the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 3803). The vote was 220-154 in favor of the bill – a strong majority (a 66 vote margin). The bill failed because it was short of the two-thirds vote required under the fast-track procedure utilized (“suspension of the rules”).

“Today’s ground-breaking majority vote constitutes a giant step towards this bill ultimately becoming law – perhaps after the replacement of some of the lawmakers who today were unwilling to protect pain-capable unborn children in the sixth month of pregnancy and later,” said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life. “154 House members will have to explain to their constituents why they voted to endorse a policy of legal abortion for any reason, until the moment of birth, in their nation’s capital."

H.R. 3803 contains findings that by 20 weeks after fertilization (if not earlier), the unborn child has the capacity to experience great pain. (This is equivalent to 22 weeks in the alternate “LMP” or “weeks of pregnancy” dating system used by ob-gyns and abortion providers.) The bill prohibits abortion after that point, except when an acute physical condition endangers the life of the mother. Nine states have already enacted abortion limitations based on the pain suffered by unborn children; no court orders have blocked enforcement of any of those laws.

In direct response to ObamaCare’s HHS mandates requiring compliance with health care regulations that violate private consciences and religious principles, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops organized a two week prayer and educational project to activate the laity on this critical issue.

The Fortnight for Freedom began on June 21st and culminated with a mass at Washington’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception attended by almost 5,000 on July 4th.

Most dioceses nationwide included local events to stress religious freedom during the two-week period, from special prayers and liturgies to processions, educational forums, and picnics.

The homily at the Shrine was delivered by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. Archbishop Chaput explained “Here’s what that means for each of us: We live in a time that calls for sentinels and public witness. Every Christian in every era faces the same task. But you and I are responsible for this moment. Today. Now. We need to “speak out,” not only for religious liberty and the ideals of the nation we love, but for the sacredness of life and the dignity of the human person – in other words, for the truth of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.”

The Fortnight for Freedom did not end on July 4th. Promoters say it’s just the beginning of an effort that will go on until religious liberty is restored.

India has joined China and several other Asian countries in having outrageous numbers of sex selection abortions.

ABC News recently aired a story on the practice of sex-selective abortions in India. It is estimated that 50 thousand girls are aborted every month. And thousands more are killed after they are born. According to ABC News, “Since 1980 an estimated 40 million girls are missing though sex-selective abortion, neglect, or murder.”

These numbers caused reporter Elizabeth Vargas to travel to India to learn the details. Once there, she was greeted with the sight of a mostly male population. “Everywhere we looked, we saw boys, young men, old men, but very, very few women. It was unsettling, especially because we knew this was not some freak of nature, but a result of the deliberate extermination of girls.”

Though the use of ultrasound technology many women can learn the gender of their baby before birth. If the woman is carrying a boy there is cause for celebration, but if she is carrying a girl, she is often pressured to abort the baby. Even though it is illegal in India to use ultrasounds to determine gender, it is a law that is largely ignored. The same is true for the law against sex-selective abortions.

The main reason so many Indian families prefer sons to daughters is because of the cultural tradition of the dowry. The expense dowries required to marry off their daughters can put many Indian families in debt, whereas a son will bring money to his family. And paying too small of a dowry is not an option for a family that loves their daughter. If the dowry is not paid or is too small, it is often an excuse for mistreating of the girl after she is married.

This systematic elimination of Indian girls is creating an alarming gender gap. And although many Indian families are aware of the problem and see the need for girls, they all would rather it be another family that actually raises them.

On June 28th the U.S. Supreme Court upheld ObamaCare by a 5-4 vote. The decision will allow the HHS mandates to continue to attack religious freedom and individual consciences and will lead to pro-abortion regulations and health care rationing that will deny life saving medical treatment and prevent individuals from using their own money to pay for life saving services.

Under the enacted law, federal tax-based subsidies will begin in 2014 to subsidize millions of private insurance plans that will cover abortion-on-demand, including some plans (“multi-state plans”) that will be administered by the federal government. Under another provision of the law, the federal government could even order many plans that do not receive federal subsidies to cover abortion as a “preventive” service. The law also created an array of other mechanisms and funding pipelines by which access to and subsidies for abortion can be expanded.

Unless repealed, ObamaCare will give federal bureaucrats the power to impose so-called “quality” measures on all health care providers, under which treatment that a doctor and patient deem needed to save that patient’s life or preserve the patient’s health but which runs afoul of the imposed standards will be denied, even if the patient is willing and able to pay for it. In 2015 and thereafter, an 18-member “Independent Payment Advisory Board” is directed to inform the federal Department of Health and Human Services how to use those imposed standards to limit what private citizens are permitted to spend on their own families’ health care to below the rate of medical inflation.

This is the most serious threat the pro-life movement and faith based organizations have faced in our lifetime. Its anti-life threats are real and immediate.