The landmark case Roe v. Wade was not the final word in the battle to protect life. Over the years, Congress has built in many hard-won protections to make sure taxpayers don’t fund abortion here or abroad. Now, more than ever, those pro-life policies are in jeopardy.
For the past 12 years or more, Congress has added pro-life spending provisions called “riders” into appropriations bills. These cover issues like taxpayer-funded abortions and abortions for federal prisoners.
When Democrats took the majority in Congress in 2006, the battle over these riders escalated.
Senate Democrats have attacked and removed a longstanding rider know as Kemp-Kasten, which bans funding for any group or program that supports coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. Also removed was a provision to protect the conscience rights of health care providers. As for President Bush's longstanding policy of not giving taxpayer dollars to international groups that promote or perform abortions? Gutted.
Pro-lifers' saving grace has been a president who threatened to veto any legislation that undermined his pro-life policies. Repeatedly, Democrats have tried to destroy the pro-life riders, but Bush's answer has been firm: I will not sign legislation that promotes abortion. Which means this is the last year we are sure the riders will stay put.
So, the importance of this presidential election cannot be overstated — not only in the makeup of Congress, but in who will sit in the Oval Office and how he will use his power to protect or destroy life.
Fighting the anti-family forces in Congress has been an uphill battle for life advocates, but their work will grow only more difficult without a pro-life president to back them up.
