U.S. Capitol This Week Mar 5-8
U.S. Department of State
The State department released its Equity Action Plan which makes the promotion of LGBTI agenda a priority of all U.S. international programs and diplomacy. It also instructs U.S. diplomats to monitor so-called “anti-rights” groups. It is the first time that the State Department has used the term “anti-rights” in an official document. This is a label created by the global left to target pro-life and pro-family groups. An overwhelming majority of social conservative groups have been labeled “anti-rights” in reports funded by the European Union, Planned Parenthood Global, and the progressive multi-billionaire George Soros and his foundation, Open Democracy. UN Reports increasingly use the “anti-rights” rhetoric to promote censoring of social conservative speech, including during talks on AI regulations.
Promotion of LGBT rights and abortion access is a top priority for the Biden Administration. Anthony Blinken and Jill Biden have honored two LGBT activists with the Annual International Women of Courage Award. In addition to that, Biden honored a woman who is suing the state of Texas for being denied an abortion by inviting her to the State of the Union Address happening on March 7th. At the same time, Biden proposed to reduce pregnancy center eligibility for federal funds under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
U.S. Congress
The U.S. is pushing Guatemala to get out of the Geneva Consensus Declaration. This document says that there is no international right to abortion and that the United Nations should therefore respect national laws and policies on the matter.
U.S. Senators are split on the issue of in vitro fertilization (IVF). In a recent Senate session, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MI) blocked a bill by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) which would safeguard widespread access to (IVF). Hyde-Smith, echoing her previous concerns, deemed the proposed legislation overly broad and full of controversial language that could be interpreted to treat the human embryo as a commodity to keep or dispose of at will.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a medical procedure where eggs are fertilized by sperm outside the body, before being implanted into the uterus. It raises ethical concerns regarding embryo creation, selection, and potential destruction, thus posing a challenge to the defense of life.
The Senate Budget Committee held a special hearing where it addressed the impact of abortion laws on women’s financial stability. In response to claims of abortion being healthcare, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) had a poster depicting a 21-week fetus to illustrate a second-trimester abortion procedure. Democrats throughout the session made their usual arguments on how women need abortion for financial reasons. Something worth addressing at such hearings is the negative effects of mailing abortion pills via telemedicine. For example, Mason Herring, Sikander Imran, and Gil Magira took abortion pills sent via mail, slipped them in their wife’s food without the wifes’ consent and thus left them with no choice other than to abort their babies. Progressive associate pro-life stances with men controlling women’s bodies but what do they have to say about these situations?
