National pro-life leaders are expressing gratitude this Thanksgiving for President Donald Trump, a man who many say is now the “most pro-life president in modern history.”
Here are five reasons why pro-life activists are thankful for Trump:
1. Hillary Clinton did not get elected president.
Had Clinton been elected president in 2016, she would now be working to repeal the Hyde Amendment and American taxpayers would have been well on their way to paying for abortions. Planned Parenthood – despite allegations of the criminal sales of body parts of aborted babies – would have been granted even more taxpayer funding. In addition, the progressive narrative that unborn babies have no constitutional rights would become ingrained in the nation’s culture for decades to come.
“This Thanksgiving, I’ll be grateful for the countless children that the president’s actions have saved, first of all by keeping Hillary Clinton out of the White House, and then by all the money he has kept out of the abortion industry nationally and internationally,” Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, tells Breitbart News.
Pavone explains:
I’m grateful for the strong boost he has given to the hearts and souls of pro-life people everywhere. I see it as I travel and interact with the movement. His clear words, his firm promises, and the actions he has already taken embolden pro-life activists in communities large and small to fight even harder and even more courageously.
Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue, says Trump has not only “done more to protect pre-born babies than any other president,” but he has also done more to protect all human life.
“Trump has also protected American citizens by prosecuting the violent gang MS13 and he has continued to take a firm stand against North Korea’s nuclear aggression,” Newman observes. “Next year, I hope to see legislation that bans the funding of Planned Parenthood and indictments against their abortion providers who have illegally sold baby body parts for a profit.”
2. The nomination and confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
Pro-life leaders have been all too aware that former President Barack Obama packed federal courts with progressive judges. Many of the activist rulings of these judges have halted attempts by Republican state legislatures to restrict late-term abortions and to protect women and babies from the devastation associated with the procedure.
The loss of Justice Antonin Scalia was a blow to pro-life leaders, but Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the high court brought renewed hope.
“I am so thankful that President Trump kicked off his presidency with the nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch,” Penny Nance, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA) tells Breitbart News. “CWA was honored to support him and rally for his victory. Gorsuch was a game changer and set the tone and criteria for future administration nominees in both the judicial branch and the executive branch.”
“I’m grateful for his re-shaping of the federal judiciary, a process well underway, and whose fruits will long outlast his Presidency,” Pavone adds as well.
Nance also notes that Trump’s other new additions to the federal courts inspire further hope.
“Loyal constitutionalists continue to be nominated to circuit courts by our president — five more just last week — and I am hopeful and confident that this trend will continue into the new year,” she says.
3. Trump has indicated he would sign legislation that defunds Planned Parenthood and that bans abortion past the fifth month of pregnancy.
Even with a Republican president in the White House, the GOP-led House and Senate have not produced a credible bill to repeal Obamacare. Most of the measures proposed, however, have included provisions to defund Planned Parenthood for one year, and it is likely Trump would have signed one of these bills into law.
The House did approve the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act – to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks – but the bill remains stalled in the Senate. Trump promised his pro-life supporters he would sign the bill into law if it reached his desk.
“Under President Trump’s pro-life leadership, we now see the potential investigation of Planned Parenthood,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List, also observes to Breitbart News. “We are working with the pro-life majority in Congress to protect conscience rights, enact pro-life reforms to the tax code, and bring the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to a vote. We are so thankful for innocent lives spared, and we look forward with great hope and excitement to more victories that lie ahead.”
4. Rollback of the Obama administration’s attacks on life and conscience.
Within days after his inauguration, Trump reinstated the “Mexico City Policy,” one that prohibits any non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive U.S. aid from performing and promoting abortion overseas.
In enacting the policy, Trump also expanded it by directing the Secretary of State to ensure the ban on taxpayer funds for overseas abortions is in place across most U.S. global health programs that provide assistance.
In April, Trump signed a resolution that overturned former President Barack Obama’s end-of-tenure rule that forced states to provide family planning grants under Title X to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
The president has also encouraged a pro-life culture through some key appointments in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including a religious liberty defender to head HHS’s Office for Civil Rights; a former pro-life leader to the post of assistant secretary for public affairs for HHS; and a longstanding advocate for a sex education program that reinforces students for making good decisions to delay sex.
In October, Trump also officially reversed the Obama administration’s HHS contraceptive mandate for employers with religious and moral objections. The provision forced most employers to provide free birth control, sterilization procedures, and abortion-inducing drugs to employees through health insurance plans.
During his first National Day of Prayer event at the White House, Trump said, “We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied, or silenced anymore. We will never ever stand for religious discrimination.”
“No American should be forced to choose between the dictates of the federal government and the tenets of their faith,” the president added.
Within recent weeks, House Republicans approved a tax reform bill that includes a provision that recognizes an “unborn child” as eligible for tax-advantaged college savings plans. The provision’s language solidifies the argument that unborn children are humans and should be allowed protection under the law.
Kristan Hawkins, President of Students for Life of America, says all of these actions cause her to be thankful that the Trump administration “did not make life a one-and-done agenda item.”
“They have pursued pro-life wins in the tax plan, in healthcare, in judicial appointments, in foreign policy, in appointments and in conversation,” she explains. “Too often, politicians talk about being pro-life during an election but are half-hearted or invisible in office.”
Hawkins acknowledges the fears that Trump’s pro-life beliefs and promises were insincere “have been proven wrong.”
“While not every effort has been successful, the Trump administration keeps swinging for the fence, and we are thankful for that tenacity,” she adds.
5. Trump is keeping his promises to the pro-life community.
Perhaps the overarching reason national pro-life leaders have developed a trust in Trump is they see him keeping his promises to them.
“I’m thankful that God has not abandoned America and has blessed us with our president who often says: ‘We do not worship government; we worship God,’” Evangelist Alveda King niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and director of Civil Rights for the Unborn – tells Breitbart News. “Thanking God that President Trump is keeping his promises regarding life, liberty, prosperity and security.”
“President Trump continues to deliver on his campaign promises in his dedication to life,” Nance adds. “CWA has been honored to work with the most pro-life administration in U.S. history, and we are hopeful for what is to come in 2018.”
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