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| Related Pages Ending Abortion Sign the Fight-FOCA Petition Fight-FOCA Postcard Campaign Contact Your Elected Officials about FOCA Contact Your Elected Officials about the Prevention First Act How You Can Help in Any of a Number of Ways Fight FOCA (The "Freedom of Choice Act")
"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.
That's the first thing that I'd do."
Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July
17, 2007
... The shockwaves that FOCA would cause are immense and wide-ranging, but
recent research shows one effect in particular. Certain state laws that are
doomed under FOCA actually prevent a statistically significant number of
abortions. These laws include parental involvement requirements, informed
consent laws, and restrictions on government funding of abortions.
Specifically, if FOCA is passed it will increase abortions by 125,000 more
per year in the United States. Since 2004, Dr. Michael New has published
studies with the Heritage Foundation showing that a large reduction in abortions
can be attributed to these three kinds of laws.
Even considering other reduction factors such as change in public opinion,
Dr. New's regression analysis shows that parental involvement laws in a state
lead to 0.54 fewer abortions per 1000 women of childbearing age, informed
consent laws lead to 0.92 fewer, and state restrictions on Medicaid funding
lead to 2.08 fewer.
...Even with this minimum, that's 125,000 children that were not killed this
year because we have these laws, and 125,000 children (added to the existing
1.3 million abortions) who will be killed in 2009 and every year after if
FOCA is passed. FOCA is indeed a staggering expansion of abortion, both in
principle and in actual lives lost.
Obama is a cosponsor of the so-called "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) (S.
1173), which would nullify all state and federal laws that "interfere with"
access to abortion before "viability" (as defined by the abortionist). The
bill would also nullify all state and federal laws that "interfere with"
access to abortion after viability if deemed to enhance "health." Because
the term "health" is not qualified in the bill, no state would be allowed
to exclude any "health" justification whatever for post-viability abortions,
because to do so would impermissibly narrow a federally guaranteed right.
In short, the FOCA would establish a federal "abortion right" broader than
Roe v. Wade and, in the words of the National Organization for Women, "sweep
away hundreds of anti-abortion laws [and] policies." The chief sponsors and
advocacy groups backing the legislation have acknowledged that it would make
partial-birth abortion legal again, nullify state parental notification laws,
and require the state and federal governments to fund abortions.
[To see a video demonstrating partial-birth abortion, please go to the
following:
Speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund on July 17, 2007, Obama said,
"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's
the first thing that I'd do."
What Does FOCA Say?
FOCA provides that "[i]t is the policy of the United States that every woman
has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy
prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability
when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman."
Further, FOCA would specifically invalidate any "statute, ordinance, regulation,
administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action" of any
federal, state, or local government or governmental official (or any person
acting under government authority) that would "deny or interfere with a woman's
right to choose" abortion, or that would "discriminate against the exercise
of the right . . . in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities,
services, or information."
Clearly, its reach is very broad. This single piece of legislation would
apply to any federal or state law "enacted, adopted, or implemented before,
on, or after the date of [its] enactment."
... Clearly FOCA will not make abortion safe or rare -- on the contrary,
it will actively promote abortion ... so, abortion advocates' unrelenting
campaign to enact FOCA is a "wake-up call" to all Americans. If implemented,
FOCA would invalidate common-sense, protective laws that the majority of
Americans support. It will not protect or empower women. Instead, it would
protect and promote the abortion industry, sacrifice women and their health
to a radical political ideology, and silence the voices of everyday Americans
who want to engage in a meaningful public discussion over the availability,
safety, and even desirability of abortion.
[To see a video demonstrating partial-birth abortion,please go to the
following:
...What are those common-sense things that have lowered the number of abortions
in America in recent years? ... First, parental notification laws; these
common-sense provisions require that those under 18 first be required to
talk about this huge matter before procuring an abortion. In addition to
parental notification laws, some states have laws requiring counseling from
someone other than a parent, in the event that the parent is unfit for some
reason. A second approach that has reduced abortions is the increased use
of ultrasound technology. The more a mother can realize the baby she carries
is a baby, the more likely her motherly instinct and compassion will kick
in to care for her own child. Finally, the number of abortions has been lessened
because of the near unanimous outcry of Americans against the most heinous
of abortions: late-term abortions, and partial birth abortions in which the
body of the baby is delivered up to the neck, while the child is killed by
having the brain stem severed before the head can pass through the birth
canal. These are some of the main reasons abortions have been reduced even
though thousands still occur every day (dropping some nine percent from 2000
to 2005 according to Planned Parenthood's Alan Guttmacher Institute statistics).
Agreeing with my friend that these things are important and deserve our attention
and support, I asked him if he was familiar with FOCA. His reply was, "What?"
FOCA stands for the Freedom of Choice Act, and most Americans, like my friend,
are unaware of it and its repercussions if it becomes the law of the land
...
... Which brings us to the present danger: if FOCA is passed, it would most
certainly nullify the common-sense restrictions that have helped lower the
number of abortions alluded to above. According to Tom McCloskey, vice president
of government affairs for the Family Research Council, if FOCA is passed
it would automatically overturn: - state abortion reporting requirements
in all 50 states; - forty-four states' laws concerning parental involvement;
- forty states' laws on restricting later term abortions; - forty-six states'
conscience protection laws for individual health care providers; - twenty-seven
states' conscience protection laws for institutions; - thirty-eight states'
bans on partial-birth abortions; - thirty-three states' laws on requiring
counseling before an abortion; - sixteen states' laws concerning ultrasounds
before an abortion.
McCloskey goes on to note: "The passage of FOCA would not only force the
issue of taxpayer-funded abortions on both the federal and state governments,
but would also overturn the wishes of all 50 state legislatures and millions
of people in the states." In essence, FOCA would be a raw act of federal
power, wiping out all of the provisions in the states to reduce abortions
in one fell swoop.
Indeed, there are many important issues that absorb us in these days which
cannot be ignored, such as the current economic turmoil. These get most of
the press as our elected officials, economists, and thinkers grapple with
solutions. The Freedom of Choice Act has been under the radar for most; yet,
if passed, this law will have repercussions in America long after the economy
is eventually stabilized.
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