Sunday, January 4, 2009
Filibuster FOCA!
The Republicans in Washington can stop the hideous liberal agenda. The Legislative abomination that is FOCA needs to be stopped. With 41 Republicans in the Senate and with the chaos in the Democratic Caucus, a Republican should be able to mount a filibuster, and there should be enough Republicans to oppose a cloture motion. A filibuster would support the efforts of millions to pass significant abortion reform legislation nationwide.
There is chaos in the Democratic caucus in the United States Senate. There are controversies surrounding vacancies in the Dem-held seats in New York and Illinois. There is a controversy over the seat from Minnesota currently held by Senator Norm Coleman. On paper, there are 58 Democrats in the Senate. However, there are currently only 56 live Democrat bodies prepared to walk the halls of the United States Senate.
There are 41 Republicans in the United State Senate. Only 40 votes are required to sustain a filibuster. A successful filibuster can stop bad legislation dead in its tracks. There are a lot of awful proposals out there - Corporate bailouts, State government bailouts, economic “stimulus”, for example. There is an additional high-priority proposal that tops the list of Obama Administration priorities. That proposal is the Freedom of Choice Act, known commonly by its acronym “FOCA”. FOCA is a worthy target for a filibuster.
FOCA would obliterate nearly four decades of reform efforts in state legislatures, the Congress and in state referenda. Political choices have been made to pass legislation reforming abortion practice and procedure nationwide. At least 27 states and the federal government have passed Partial Birth Abortion Bans. At least 35 states have legislative requirements that parents of minors be informed and give consent before a teen can undergo an abortion. FOCA would wipe out all of those laws, and more.
FOCA’s name is an Orwellian deception because each of those laws represents a choice made by tens of millions of Americans. Each one of those laws was passed because of courageous legislative sponsors and co-sponsors, because of legislative leaders who posted the bills and because of legislators who voted for those bills. Each one of those laws passed because of pro-life advocacy groups that mounted effective public information and public relation campaigns nationwide. Each one of those laws passed because millions of voters support pro-life advocacy groups and tens of millions of Americans support pro-life candidates for public office.
The choices made by legislators, pro-life lobbyists and politicians across the land are supported by an American public that is pro-life. According to the most recent polling data, over seventy percent of Americans support significant limitations on abortion. Indeed, seventy per cent of Americans support a ban on abortion except in cases of rape or incest. Only three percent of abortions are for pregnancies that result from rape or incest. Therefore, seventy per cent of Americans support banning ninety-seven per cent of abortions.
The Obama Administration wants to pass and sign FOCA as soon as possible. FOCA would wipe out the choices made by tens of millions of Americans. We need a courageous Republican to stand up for the tens of millions of Americans who made the choice to ban partial-birth abortion and to require parental notification in cases where teens are subject to abortion.
