Fight FOCA

I'm not normally a fan of online petitions, but this is one I've signed. I'd encourage you to go to their website and read up on Fight FOCA, and watch the video on the right side of the screen. Then, if you so desire, scroll down and sign the petition.

UPDATE:

I've been reading some of the bill. (The Senate version & House version are basically identical.) Wow. Here's just a little bit, with my responses:

(1) The United States was founded on core principles, such as liberty, personal privacy, and equality, which ensure that individuals are free to make their most intimate decisions without governmental interference and discrimination.

I thought the first "core principle" that the U.S. was founded on was life. Seems to me like without life, one cannot really experience liberty or personal privacy.

(6) In countries in which abortion remains illegal, the risk of maternal mortality is high. According to the World Health Organization, of the approximately 600,000 pregnancy-related deaths occurring annually around the world, 80,000 are associated with unsafe abortions.

So roughly 13% of women who die from pregnancy-related causes are associated with "unsafe" abortions. That pales in comparison to the 100% death rate of aborted babies.

(7) The Roe v. Wade decision also expanded the opportunities for women to participate equally in society. In 1992, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (505 U.S. 833), the Supreme Court observed that, `[t]he ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives.'.

I'm not a biologist, but I'm pretty sure that women have always been able to control their reproductive lives. As have men. It's called abstinence. It may not be easy, but it's 100% effective.

(10) Legal and practical barriers to the full range of reproductive services endanger women's health and lives. Incremental restrictions on the right to choose imposed by Congress and State legislatures have made access to reproductive care extremely difficult, if not impossible, for many women across the country. Currently, 87 percent of the counties in the United States have no abortion provider.

How does abortion fall under "reproductive care"? If it's not a baby, there was no reproduction. And if it is reproduction, and therefore a baby, then it's most certainly not caring for what has been reproduced. Did I miss Planned Parenthood's new motto, "We kill because we care"?

(11) While abortion should remain safe and legal, women should also have more meaningful access to family planning services that prevent unintended pregnancies, thereby reducing the need for abortion.

Again, let me point to the 100% death rate for aborted babies (not what I'd call "safe") and the much maligned "family planning service" known as abstinence.

(12) To guarantee the protections of Roe v. Wade, Federal legislation is necessary.

No it's not. Courts do not establish law. They merely decide how law is applied in individual cases. Legislatures and voters establish law. It's part of the separation of powers of the government.

(13) Although Congress may not create constitutional rights without amending the Constitution, Congress may, where authorized by its enumerated powers and not prohibited by the Constitution, enact legislation to create and secure statutory rights in areas of legitimate national concern.

What about "legitimate national concern" about the lives of babies?

SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE EFFECT.

This Act applies to every Federal, State, and local statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.

There you go - there's the kicker. The Senate's version of the "no matter what" game I used to play with my brother when we were kids. Only back then we were usually talking about who was the better athlete or whose favorite team was better. Not quite the same seriousness as killing babies.