‘The fight for life is far from over:’ Principled pro-life advocates, lawmakers uphold cause

CNA Staff, Jun 14, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The same week the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a setback to the effort to rein in the growing distribution and use of chemical abortion pills, several leading pro-life advocates and lawmakers gathered in Washington, D.C., for a Live Action press conference to underscore the “violence” of chemical abortions and the importance of taking a principled stand on the issue.

At the event, former abortionist Dr. John Bruchalski, who founded Tepeyac OB/GYN and now heads Divine Mercy Care, discussed the growing popularity of chemical abortions and underscored that abortion “is a bloody, violent, brutal, unmerciful surgery or process that is emotionally filled with trauma, regret, hatred, shame, guilt, and malice.”

Bruchalski said the increasing number of chemical abortions “are turning apartments, homes, and bathrooms into memories of violence.”

“Today we are at a crossroads in medicine, in politics, and civil rights, testing whether this nation, conceived in liberty, is still dedicated to the proposition that all members of the human family are created equal,” he said.

“Two visions are before us, one dark and hopeless, one welcoming and hopeful,” Bruchalski continued. The physician advocates for a “two-patient approach” to care that provides pregnant women and their unborn children with “life-giving and compassionate, scientifically sound treatment options, never pitting the mother against her child within.”

“The fight for life is far from over,” said Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado, who introduced a bill last June that would define unborn children as legal and constitutional persons.

Though Lamborn hails from Colorado, the first state to legalize abortion and one of the most radically pro-abortion states, he is a staunch advocate for life and called on pro-lifers to remain “vigilant.”

When Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, the decision of whether or not to protect unborn children was returned to individual states to decide. In a post-Roe America, chemical abortions have increased, becoming 63% of all U.S. abortions in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Rep. Alex Mooney, R-West Virginia, discussed his pro-life legislation in the context of President Joe Biden’s position on the issue.

“Now, this might come as a surprise to you. There’s actually something Joe Biden and I agree upon,” Mooney said. “We both agree that life begins at conception. President Biden has said multiple times, it is his belief that life begins at conception. It’s mine also.”

“I have a bill that defines human life at conception,” Mooney continued. “The problem is Mr. Biden, a lot of his allies, lack the courage, politically, of their convictions to protect and defend human life from the moment of conception. But my bill does that. These babies deserve that protection. They’re human beings.”

“My bill simply says that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution protects the unborn from the moment of conception,” he said. “This is actually a biological fact, and I think most Americans understand that that’s a fact as well. But we need to have the courage of our convictions to put these policies into law to protect the unborn.”

Another lawmaker, Rep. Bob Good, R-Virginia, noted that many politicians have taken a hands-off, federalist approach to abortion after the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

“The Republican Party must — must — remain a party for life,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, prominent Democrats on Capitol Hill continue to lambaste pro-life Republicans as the 2024 elections approach, calling the pro-life side “extreme.”

“The chaos, the fear, the heartbreak caused by extreme Republican abortion bans has only grown with each passing day, and we would like to say to any Republicans who are still in denial, this issue is not going away,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington.