Victory

Last week, the majority part in the U.S. House of Representatives refused to allow a vote on a bill that would provide medical care and treatment for babies who survived failed abortions. If you’re counting, that’s the 40th time the majority has refused to bring the bill to a vote.

When the average pro-life American watches how Washington attempts to deal with the subject of infanticide, for this is not an abortion issue, it would be very easy to become discouraged. But I would challenge us to turn away from Washington and pay closer attention to what is happening in the states—where pro-life victories are being won!

Take, for example, the state of Mississippi where the governor has already signed a bill into law that prohibits abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Gov. Phillip Bryant says he hope this bill will move toward his goal of making the state “the safest place in America for an unborn child.”

In Louisiana, lawmakers are moving forward with a bill called LOVE LIFE that amends that state’s constitution declaring there is no right to an abortion in that state nor is taxpayer funding available for abortions.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill into law requiring abortion centers that sell the abortion pill to inform women that there is a process to reverse the pill and save their baby should they change their mind during the abortion process.

Last week, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia, signed into law a “heartbeat” bill, known as the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act (LIFE) that likewise prohibits abortions once the baby’s heartbeat is detected. The law does allow exceptions for rape, incest, and threats to the mother’s life as well as provides for parents to claim unborn babies as dependents on their taxes and include them in census data. The bill even goes so far as to allow mothers to collect child support for pregnancy and delivery costs from the father prior to the baby’s birth.

That hasn’t stopped several Hollywood elites from threatening the state with boycotts, hoping to economically injure the Peach State with its attractive tax incentives for film makers. The threat didn’t stop the bill from being signed.

Entertainer Alyssa Milano sent out a tweet on Friday saying, “Until women have legal control over our own bodies, we just cannot risk pregnancy. JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back.” The tweet backfired with cries of exclusion from the LGBT community, while feminists said Alyssa was “playing into patriarchy.” Others said Milano was advocating sex as a weapon.

Abortion was and should always have been a states’ rights issue. This year, over 250 pro-life bills have been introduced in over 41 states. Almost 50% of those bills would ban abortion in “some or all circumstances,” Legislators in seven states have proposed bills that would completely ban abortion, while six states are considering or have passed “trigger bans” that would ban abortion if or when Roe v. Wade is repealed.

So, my pro-life friend. Press on. As Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

That’s my opinion. I’m Janet Parshall.