There is a group out there called Created Equal that has piqued my interest since they fight for those who truly have no choice because their right to life is denied to them by their mother’s decision to abort her pregnancy. Based out of Columbus, Ohio, they realize that ground zero for their fight will be later this month in Cleveland at the Republican National Convention, so they embarked on a short tour of Ohio to gather support.
The release Created Equal put out about it reminded me again why I’m here on Delmarva, which at least has a little common sense.
On June 16-17, #OperationRNC conducted a state-wide tour of Ohio. Troy Newman of Operation Rescue, Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, and Mark Harrington of Created Equal were joined by other Ohio pro-life leaders in Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo and Cleveland.
Three of the four media coverage items they used were from Toledo: two from television and one by The Blade, which is Toledo’s primary newspaper. (Not to be confused with the Washington Blade, an LGBT-centric publication.) As it was described by The Blade, there were 20 on the pro-life side and 30 on the pro-abortion side. I suppose that’s only fair since Toledo has long since ceded itself to the whims of the Democrat Party and their Planned Parenthood outlet is downtown, not in the suburbs where more of the conservatives live.
But what did the Created Equal side want?
Activists are requesting that $540,000,000 currently given to Planned Parenthood be redirected to 13,000 federally licensed health clinics which provide true comprehensive women’s health care. These clinics provide a greater variety of services and choices to women than Planned Parenthood and are not under federal investigation.
The DNC is calling for a repeal of the Hyde Amendment and instead include the funding of abortion on demand in their party platform. Pro-lifers need to counter by demanding that the GOP defund Planned Parenthood.
So we are not advocating here for overturning Roe v. Wade nor telling Texas to advise the Supreme Court to butt out of their business as they tried to prevent the very coat-hanger, Gosnell-style abortions I thought the pro-choice crowd was also trying to prevent by enhancing standards for facilities where abortions are performed. (Wasn’t the pro-choicers’ mantra “safe, legal, and rare” abortions? They had their wish in Texas.)
All they are asking at this point is to defund an organization that has many (but not all) locations performing abortions, and instead distribute the money to those that provide more comprehensive women’s health services. Given the figures stated, each local organization would receive an average of about $41,000 – for a group like the Eastern Shore Pregnancy Center, that would be a huge boost in enabling them to do more services. (Assuming, of course, they would wish to collect government money – many self-respecting providers make a point of refusing it.)
While Donald Trump has said he will defund Planned Parenthood, he’s in the camp of them not necessarily being the enemy. From February:
Yes, because as long as they do the abortion I am not for funding Planned Parenthood but they do cervical cancer work. They do a lot of good things for women but as long as they’re involved with the abortions, as you know they say it’s 3% of their work, some people say it’s 10%, some people say it’s 8%, I hear all different percentages but it doesn’t matter. As long as they’re involved with abortion, as far as I’m concerned forget it, I wouldn’t fund them regardless. But they do do other good work. You look at cervical cancer. I’ve had women tell me they do some excellent work so I think you also have to put that into account but I would defund Planned Parenthood because of their view and the fact of their work on abortion.
Sorry, I’m not convinced that defunding Planned Parenthood wouldn’t be a bargaining chip for Trump – I was much more comfortable with the pro-life stance of most of the remaining GOP field. Remember, in practically every community PP serves there are other entities providing similar, if not overlapping, services. So why should PP get so much from taxpayers?
Being pro-life is a stance that should unite libertarians and social conservatives: protecting the right to life is not only the Christian thing to do but is also the ultimate in liberty. Indeed, being a parent is also a responsibility but if one isn’t ready to take it on there are other options available which preserve the unborn baby’s life. At least one political party should do even more to relate these irrefutable facts.