Illinois Senators Vote Against Defunding Planned Parenthood

U.S. Senators Richard Durbin (D) and Mark Kirk (R) both voted against a bill that would have de-funded the Planned Parenthood yesterday. The bill failed on a 42-58 vote. In addition to Kirk, Republicans voting against the amendment to de-fund Planned Parenthood were: Scott Brown (MA), Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Olympia Snowe (ME). No Democratic Senators voted for the bill.

Illinois Review comments:

No one ever doubted radical left extremist Dick Durbin would vote against an effort to push Planned Parenthood from the federal gravy train, but there was hope that Illinois' brand new Republican senator Mark Kirk would support his Republican House colleagues' effort to stop special interest tax doleouts to Planned Parenthood. He did not.

Kirk has traveled throughout Illinois warning people at town hall meetings about the budget disaster America is facing because of uncontrolled spending. He has publicly boasted that the era of congressional earmarks is over. He told an audience downstate that he was for a 10 % across the board budget cut, including a 10% slice from Planned Parenthood's budget.

Because of all those factors there was hope that Kirk, who now represents the whole state of Illinois rather than the socially-liberal 10th Congressional District, would consider moderating his historical pro-abortion stance. There was hope that for the sake of budget cuts and the pending economic disaster he warns us against, consider voting to eliminate the morally-repugnant Planned Parenthood earmark.

We're not surprised with Senator Kirk's vote, but we're disappointed with it. He and Senator Durbin failed not only Illinoisans, they failed all American hard-working, self-sacrificing taxpayers.

Writing at his blog, Republican News Watch, conservative activist Doug Ibendahl comments:

Frankly no one should be surprised.

But Republicans, take note. It’s certainly true that Mark Kirk has no problem saying he’s pro-choice (yeah no kidding, as a U.S. Congressman he even voted in favor of partial birth abortion).

However on multiple occasions during last year’s campaign he would add a caveat to his otherwise 100% pro-abortion stance. Kirk repeatedly said he opposed federal funding of abortion.

So score yesterday’s vote as just one more lie by Mark Kirk. Add it to the list of countless dishonest things Kirk has said over the years in order to keep gullible voters and reporters in his camp.

Someone please remind me again, what was supposedly the difference between Mark Kirk and Alexi Giannoulias?

Oh that’s right, I remember. Both are very liberal – Kirk arguably more so.

But Mark Kirk brings that liberalism into our Republican Party – combines it with a rather disturbing inability to tell the truth – and continually undermines and dilutes the GOP brand from within.

Yeah, thank goodness the Democrats didn’t elect their “mob banker” Giannoulias.

My observation continues to be that no matter how fiscally conservative one is, if he's a social liberal, then socially liberal measures will take precedence over fiscal conservatism every time.

Pence Introduces Bill to De-Fund Planned Parenthood, Walsh Co-Sponsors

Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN), has introduced a bill, HB217 that would deny Title X federal family planning funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers:

It is morally wrong to end an unborn human life by abortion. It is also morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to promote abortion at home or abroad.

Last year, Planned Parenthood received more than $363 million in revenue from government grants and contracts. During that same time, they performed an unprecedented 324,008 abortions.

The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X.

The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act will prevent any family planning funds under Title X from going to Planned Parenthood or other organizations that perform abortions. It will ensure that abortion providers are not being subsidized with federal tax dollars.

Pence boasts over 120 co-sponsors to this bill, including our own Joe Walsh (R-IL), of the 8th District.

I spoke with Congressman Walsh today, and he told me:

This is one of the first pieces of legislation that I'm a co-sponsor on, and it's an honor.

You know as well as I do that Planned Parenthood receives an idiotically high amount of funding from the government, and they continue to perform an unprecedented number of abortions.

If there's anything like a common ground on this issue, it's that public money shouldn't be used to fund abortion. It's a privilege and an honor to co-sponsor this bill.

Congressman Bob Dold (R-IL), of the 10th District, ran on a platform that included opposition to public funding of abortion, although Dold identifies himself as being pro-choice. According to Pence's office, Dold is not a co-sponsor of this bill, and a call to Dold's office asking the Congressman's position on this bill has not been returned.

Mike Pence's remarks on the House floor introducing the bill:

A Pro-Life Mandate for Congress

Check out this great piece at Illinois Review (an excerpt):

Once again, much like 1994, the Republican Party has an opportunity to take back Congress and is drafting a legislative blueprint similar to the original Contract with America to lay out its plans should Republicans take the majority this November.

The protection of women and their children from the violence of abortion and the protection of taxpayers from funding it must be an integral part of any legislative blueprint released by the leadership of the GOP, and should be included under a specific plank addressing family values.

Speak out for Life today by telling the Republican Party leadership that pro-life legislation must be a priority in its legislative blueprint for America.

With the majority of Americans identifying themselves as pro-life, and with an even stronger majority agreeing that tax dollars shouldn't fund abortion, the consensus for passage of serious pro-life legislation couldn't be stronger.

Consider these common-sense pro-life legislative initiatives that enjoy broad support across America:

• Legislation such as the “Protect Life Act” which would ensure that no federal funds authorized under the health care reform law are used to pay for abortions or subsidize insurance plans that cover abortions, prevent any part of the federal government from forcing insurance plans to cover abortions, and codify strong conscience protections.
  
• 67% of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion in health care, according to a January 2010 poll conducted by Quinnipiac University.
  
• Legislation such as the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” which would establish a permanent government-wide prohibition on the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion.
  
• 61% of Americans support a ban on taxpayer funding of abortion, according to a November 2009 poll conducted by CNN.
  
• Legislation establishing parental consent for minors seeking abortion.
  
• 69% of Americans support parental consent for minors under 18 seeking an abortion, according to a July 2006 poll conducted by Gallup.
  
• Legislation such as the “Child Pain Awareness Act” which would require abortion providers to notify women who want to have an abortion 20 weeks after fertilization that the evidence suggests their unborn child feels pain and they may request anesthesia for their unborn child in order to reduce or eliminate the pain.
  
• 77% of Americans favor such legislation, according to an April 2004 poll conducted by Zogby.

The Republican Party needs to hear from pro-life Americans. Speak out for Life today to ensure your voice heard on behalf of unborn children and their mothers.

Abortion Will Kill Obama's Healthcare Reform

I've predicted for months now that abortion will be the death of the President's healthcare reform bill. Now it's happening:

Now that President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress have officially decided to use reconciliation to force the Senate pro-abortion health care bill through the House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi begins the task of finding enough votes for the bill to get it approved on a majority vote.

However, in part because of the massive abortion funding and other pro-abortion problems with the Senate bill, she my not get there.

The House could vote on the bill as early as March 19 and some Democrats who voted for the House version of the bill, which was approved on a very narrow margin, have already said they are either undecided on the bill or may vote no.

Rep. Bart Stupak, the respected pro-life Democrat, confirmed this week he will not vote for the Senate bill and as many as 10-12 pro-life Democrats who voted yes on the House bill may join him.

The House approved its bill 220-215 and the defection of Stupak and those 10-12 Democrats would be enough to defeat the measure. Add pro-life Republican Rep. Anh Cao of Louisiana, the only GOP lawmaker to back the House bill, to the mix and Pelosi is even further behind the eight ball.

Obama and top Democrats hope to sweeten the pot with the language in the reconciliation bill but Stupak told the Wall St. Journal that he and other Democrats won't bite.

"We're not going to walk the plank again just to see the Senate shut us down," he said.

“You're going to make members vote for a bill that’s going to be hung around your neck come Election Day,” he said. “After sending so much legislation to the Senate, we just don't trust that they're going to do it.”

But today, Rep. Michael Arcuri, New York Democrat, told media outlets that he has changed his mind and is now firmly in the no column after voting yes before. [Emphasis added.]

Who would have thought that pro-life Democrats in the House would be the ones to stop this bill? But they will be.