LAC News
What the Election Means for the Pro-life Cause
By LaToya Cain
November 2008

Over 48, 000, 000 unborn babies have been killed since 1973 when the Supreme Court imposed abortion nationwide.  That’s nearly the entire populations of California and Ohio combined. For the past 35 years, pro-lifers have worked tirelessly to put in place legislation and restrictions on abortion in order to reduce the overall number of babies killed.  Yet, come January 2009 such laws and restrictions could all be undone.  

Over the years, mounting evidence indicates the effectiveness of pro-life legislation to reduce the incidence of abortion.  A report by University of Alabama professor Michael J. New for the Witherspoon Institute states that “during the past 35 years, the pro-life movement has made real progress. The number of abortions has fallen in the 12 out of the past 14 years and the total number of abortions has declined by 21 percent since 1990.  These gains are largely due to pro-life political victories at the federal level in the 1980s and at the state level in the 1990s which have made it easier to pass pro-life legislation.” 

Under an Obama Administration, millions more unborn lives would be lost, whereas a McCain Administration could be expected to build on the pro-life progress the nation has made.  While McCain is known for his pro-life stance, Obama told supporters at a Planned Parenthood Action fundraising event that the first thing he would do as president is sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).  This bill would obliterate any “… Federal, State and local statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment …” that would “deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose to bear a child; to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman.”  

FOCA would overturn parental notification and consent laws, informed consent laws, waiting periods and more, including the recently upheld federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban. The issue of taxpayer funded abortion would also become a greater obstacle for the pro-life movement.  In fact, the Hyde amendment which prohibits the use of federal funding for abortion (except in cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother is in danger), would essentially be null and void.  Below are descriptions of the other type pro-life laws that would effectively be eliminated if FOCA is signed into law¹:

• State abortion reporting requirements in all 50 states
• Forty-four states' laws concerning parental involvement
• Forty states' laws on restricting later-term abortions
• Forty-six states' conscience protection laws for individual health care providers
• Twenty-seven states' conscience protection laws for institutions
• Thirty-eight states' bans on partial-birth abortion
• Thirty-three states' laws on requiring counseling before an abortion
• Twenty-eight states' laws requiring a waiting period before an abortion, and
• Sixteen states' laws concerning ultrasounds before an abortion