For those of us with even a passing knowledge of biology the idea that life begins at conception is not a religious or moral decision it is an empirical fact. Within the impregnated egg is the spark of life. In tandem with this is the knowledge that this fertilized egg contains the genetic code for a unique individual, a member of the human family. For those who believe God is the source of all life we know the fundamental genesis of this reality even if we don’t know the particulars of a specific case. This last sentence could be called an article of faith. The three preceding sentences are not a leap in the dark. They are fact-based and undeniable.
In 1973, the Supreme Court gave the world a perfect example of politically motivated myth making when they supposedly discovered the right to privacy hidden in the words of the Fourth Amendment. This Amendment never mentions privacy and actually deals with unreasonable searches and seizures. The imperial Supreme Court by declaring abortion a civil right was in effect legislating and not adjudicating. Ever since, Americans who believe life is given by God and shouldn’t be taken by man have longed for a President who would do more than espouse pro-life values during election campaigns.
The following list highlights President Trump’s massive efforts to support the pro-life community and their on-going campaign to protect the unborn who are dying daily in this silent holocaust.
- Ended funding of groups that perform and promote abortion overseas
Right after his inauguration one of President Trump’s first actions reinstated the “Mexico City Policy.” This is a policy prohibiting any non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive U.S. aid from performing and promoting abortion overseas. It is regularly imposed by Republicans and ended by Democrats.
And he not only reinstated the policy, Trump expanded it into a new Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance program. The President directed the Secretary of State to make sure that the ban on the use of American taxpayer funds for overseas abortions is now in place in any global health programs to which our government provide assistance.
2. Appointed pro-life judges
During the final presidential debate with Hillary Clinton in 2016, challenger Donald Trump stated, “I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges.”
In the ensuing three and a half years he has fulfilled that promise nominating three judges to the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
In a recent report the Heritage Foundation stated that Trump’s federal judiciary confirmations number 218. According to Breitbart News by the end of his first term, President Trump and the Republican Senate have confirmed more judges to the federal judiciary in one term than any recent administration.
3. Signed a resolution that allows states to end Planned Parenthood’s family planning funding
In April 2017, Trump signed a resolution that overturned an rule imposed by President Obama that forced states to grant Title X family planning funds to Planned Parenthood.
4. Defunded the pro-abortion United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Under orders from President Trump the State Department has ended U.S. funding of UNFPA . Funding that the Obama administration required flowed to this international agency linked by so-called human rights activists to the unqualified support of population control programs such as China’s “one-child policy. A Policy that in many cases included coercive abortion.
5. Required health insurance companies to reveal plans that cover abortion.
Under Obama Care people were forced to purchase insurance policies that included payments for abortion services, often without disclosing that fact to those compelled to purchase them. The Trump Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) stripped away this masked funding program for abortion mills. In 2018 HHS issued a rule requiring health insurers to reveal if their plans cover abortion.
6. New rules regarding HHS contraceptive mandate
Breaking from the unqualified support demanded by the Obama Administration the Trump departments of HHS, Treasury, and Labor issued two rules providing protection for both religious objectors, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, and moral objectors, such as pro-life organizations from the HHS contraceptive mandate to provide insurance that pays for contraceptives or abortifacient drugs.
7. New Office for Conscience Protection at HHS
The new Conscience and Religious Freedom division of the Office for Civil Rights opened in January 2018. This newly formed division established by the Trump HHS is tasked with protecting health care providers who don’t want to fund abortions from discrimination.
8. Established that abortion is not family planning
Before President Trump Title X, the federal grant program that provides funding for family planning services provided vast amounts of money to the abortion mills of America. Effectively blocking about $60 million in American tax payer funding from flowing to Planned Parenthood and other abortion provider the Trump HHS released a rule 1n February 2019 ending this bountiful giveaway instituted by the Obama Administration. President Trump’s action now prohibits the use of Title X funds to “perform, promote, refer for, or support abortion as a method of family planning.”
9. Ending taxpayer-funded research using bodies of aborted babies
The Trump HHS announced In June 2019, that taxpayer funding would no longer be provided for research programs using human fetal tissue derived from the body parts of aborted babies.
10. Clarified abortion is not a civil right
Rebuking the pro-abortion U.N. and World Health Organization (W.H.O.) the Trump Administration eliminated both gender identity, termination of pregnancy, and abortion from the federal government’s official definition of sex discrimination implemented by the Obama administration.
Going beyond trying to protect life only in the United States President Trump led a 32-nation signing ceremony declaring that there is no international right to abortion.
The rule protects health care entities that receive federal funding from being required to participate in, or pay for, abortions.
The declaration states, “in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning … and … the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.”
This action brought praise from pro-life leaders. The national director of Priests for Life, Father Frank Pavone, observed, “This is the first time these nations have committed to working together – despite cultural and religious differences – to ensure that human rights are extended to every member of the human family.”
The President of the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) a group that tracks Trump’s pro-life wins, Marjorie Dannenfelser said,
Abortion is not health care. Sovereign nations have the right to protect their most vulnerable citizens, including the unborn, and to be free from bullying and coercive efforts to expand abortion on demand. From day one, President Trump and his administration have worked to stop the exportation of abortion, making respect for life the official policy of the United States in our international relations. We join our friends around the world in celebrating this landmark declaration, which builds on the Trump administration’s commitment to promote authentic human rights and dignity at every turn.
And the president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles Alfonso Aguilar said, “President Trump is standing for the defense of life in the Americas like no other president in history.”
11. Became the first president to appear in person to address the March for Life
In January 2020, for the first time a sitting president attended the annual March for Life in Washington, DC, this is the largest pro-life event in the nation every year.
In the past Republican presidents opposed to abortion, including Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, did not personally attending the march perhaps seeking to avoid being too strongly associated with demonstrators eager to outlaw the procedure. Instead of attending they sent remarks for others to deliver, spoke via telephone hookup or invited organizers to the White House. All marks of support however, they never attended the march.
Breaking this precedent Donald Trump delivered his words to the gathering in person saying, “Today as President of the United States, I am truly proud to stand with you.”
12. Signed executive order protecting infants born alive
In September, while attending the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast President Trump announced, “Today I’m announcing that I will be signing the Born Alive executive order to ensure that all precious babies born alive, no matter their circumstances, receive the medical care that they deserve. This is our sacrosanct moral duty. We are also increasing federal funding for the neonatal research to ensure that every child has the very best chance to thrive and to grow.”
The President also said, “I will always protect the vital role of religion and prayer in American society. And I will always defend the sacred right to life.”
President Trump wrote in a letter outlining Joe Biden’s embrace of the Democrat Party’s extreme position of abortion on demand, at taxpayer expense. Contrasting his goals with those of the rabidly pro-abortion democrat President Trump said the if re-elected, he will work to “continue the transformation of the federal judiciary, finally pass and sign into law pro-life legislation, including the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.” The president also pledged in early September to defund Planned Parenthood if elected to a second term.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, the previously mentioned president of the SBA List, serves as national co-chair with Christina Bennett, of Pro-Life Voices for Trump praised the President’s leadership and referred to his many accomplishments as “groundbreaking.”
Dannenfelser said, “In just one term, Trump has become the most pro-life president our nation has ever seen.”
She added, “In 2016 then-candidate Donald Trump’s groundbreaking written commitments were instrumental to mobilizing pro-life voters to propel him to victory however, there is more work to be done.”
Pointing to the President’s letter offering his commitments for a second term Dannenfelser said, it is “further proof of pro-life momentum heading into this pivotal election.”
Noting that she believed pro-life issues would become a plus for the President in the election Dannenfelser believes, “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s support for abortion on-demand, paid for by taxpayers is extreme, immoral, and will prove to be a loser at the ballot box.”
Author: Robert Owens
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens [email protected] Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
