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2020 Democratic Party Platform – A “Rough” Draft on Life
By Vince Torres, President & Executive Director
Last week, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) released a rough draft of their 2020 Democratic Party Platform, and if you are a pro-life New Mexican like me, this platform is “rough” indeed. Each year, the platform highlights the Democratic Party’s priorities and political agenda for the nation, and this year, the DNC was not coy about their support for radical policies that will expand abortion, overturn pro-life legislation, and ultimately continue the slaughter of millions of American babies – over 60 million since 1973
Consider these problematic statements:
“We will repeal the Hyde Amendment…”
(2020 Democratic Party Platform, pg. 29, lines 43-44)
Though most Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, the DNC platform states an intent to repeal the federal Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment, which passed in 1976, prevents federal funding, including Medicaid, from being used for abortions except in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk. According to a recent poll, 60 percent of Americans “oppose using tax dollars to pay for a woman’s abortion,” including 43 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Independents.
“We will restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood…”
(2020 Democratic Party Platform, pg. 29, lines 39-40)
In years past, Planned Parenthood, which performs over 300,000 abortions every year, utilized a regulatory loophole to access $50-$60 million annually in federal funds designated for pre-conceptive family planning services. Under the Trump Administration’s “Protect Life Rule,” the loophole was removed, forcing Planned Parenthood to withdrawal from the Title X family planning program. According to the DNC platform, these federal dollars would be restored to Planned Parenthood, allowing the abortion industry giant to again use taxpayer dollars to promote, perform, and refer women for abortions as a method of “family planning.”
“We will…protect and codify Roe v. Wade.”
(2020 Democratic Party Platform, pg. 29, lines 43-44)
The future Roe v. Wade has never been more in question than it is today, and the DNC recognizes that one more U.S. Supreme Court appointment may very well lead to the overturning of the Court’s erroneous 1973 decision. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the DNC wants to both “protect” Roe (with pro-abortion judges) and “codify” Roe (with pro-abortion legislation) to secure elective, taxpayer funded abortion up to the moment of birth for decades to come.
“We will fight to enact the Equality Act…”
(2020 Democratic Party Platform, pg. 38, line31)
Among the DNC’s top legislative priorities is the pro-abortion Equality Act. In addition to stripping conscience protections for medical professionals who object to performing abortions, this dangerous federal proposal could essentially gut every piece of pro-life legislation ever passed by establishing a federal “right” to taxpayer funded abortion on demand. In 2019, the Democratic-controlled House passed a version of the Equality Act with every single Democrat – including New Mexico Representatives Ben Ray Lujan, Deb Haaland, and Xochitl Torres Small – voting in favor of the bill. The legislation has since stalled in the Republican-led Senate.
“Democrats oppose and will fight to overturn federal and state laws…”
(2020 Democratic Party Platform, pg. 29, lines 42-43)
With states continuing to pass and enact more pro-life legislation than ever, the DNC platform boldly asserts that Democrats will overturn pro-life laws at the state and federal levels. Imagine if the federal “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act” was repealed, allowing for the intact dilation and extraction of an unborn child. Imagine of all pro-life state laws across the country – including late-term abortion bans, parental notification requirements for minors seeking abortions, and born-alive infant protection legislation – were suddenly wiped off the books.
Pro-Life Democrats Push Back
In response to the DNC’s radical, pro-abortion platform, some pro-life Democrats are now pushing back. Kristen Day, Executive Director of Democrats for Life of America, publicly chided the DNC for its “discrimination” and intolerance towards those who “support a whole life ethic.”
Meanwhile, a group of more than 100 “left-leaning, pro-life” clergy members penned a letter calling on the DNC “to recognize the inviolable human dignity of the child, before and after birth…. to reject a litmus test on pro-life people of faith seeking office in the Democratic Party…. [and] to end the explicit support in your platform for abortion extremism, such as taxpayer-funded abortion in America and overseas.”
#VoteProLife
At Family Policy Alliance of New Mexico, we are proud to have the support of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, and others in our effort to fight for the unborn children of New Mexico and our nation. Like the aforementioned clergy letter states, we believe “we have an obligation to speak truth to power in the face of injustice and inequality” and “to play a particular role in moving the conscience of the American people to end unjust discrimination against certain classes of people, as in previous civil rights movements.”
To that end, we invite you to join us – by speaking up, by taking action, and by voting for pro-life candidates this November. We will soon know whether or not the DNC amends their pro-abortion platform, but ultimately, it is up to the individual candidates to state their positions and many already have.
In New Mexico, for example, Planned Parenthood has already released most of its pro-abortion endorsements for President (Joe Biden); the U.S. Senate (Ben Ray Lujan); the U.S. House (Deb Haaland, Xochitl Torres Small, and Teresa Legar Fernandez); and the New Mexico Legislature.
Meanwhile, Family Policy Alliance of New Mexico® released its New Mexico Legislative Pro-Life Scorecard, which documents the pro-life or pro-abortion position for every incumbent New Mexico State Senator and State Representative.
Please take some time to review these resources and stay tuned for more voter education tools in the coming weeks and months. Together, let’s #VoteProLife this November and ensure that the DNC’s “rough” draft on abortion does not become our “rough” reality in New Mexico.
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