Conservatives are joining forces to oppose President Joe Biden’s nominee to head Health and Human Services (HHS), describing the former Congressman and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as an “extremist” who believes in abortion on demand up to the moment of birth and no intervention if a baby survives the procedure.
The Conservative Action Project and the Conservative Partnership Institute are distributing an open letter detailing their opposition to Becerra:
No federal agency has more influence over policies relating to the sanctity of life, human dignity, and religious liberty than HHS. Becerra has a troubling record on all of these fronts. He is an extremist nominee who will carry the agendas of liberal dark money groups to his administration post if confirmed.
As a former Member of Congress, Becerra voted against a ban on partial-birth abortion, against making it a crime to hurt an unborn child during the perpetration of another crime, and against efforts to bar minors from being driven across state lines for an abortion without parental consent. He has consistently voted in favor of taxpayer-funded abortions.
Later, as California’s attorney general, he repeatedly prosecuted journalist and pro-life activist David Daleiden on behalf of Planned Parenthood. Becerra led lawsuits against the Trump administration, calling it a “gag order” when an HHS rule was revised to bar federally funded contraceptive clinics and doctors from encouraging abortion or providing abortion referrals. Even after losing the case, Becerra vowed to “continue to fight for comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including safe and legal abortion.”
The letter points out rather than advocating for religious liberty Becerra supported efforts to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for abortifacients.
As AG he sued the federal government to “protect a California regulation forcing churches to pay for abortions in their health care plans.”
His record during the pandemic in California is also problematic, the letter said, citing Becerra’s backing grocery and liquor stores as essential but supporting draconian restriction in places for the state’s churches.
“Becerra has shown neither the judgment, character, or respect for human life necessary to lead the agency with such influence over the foundational rights of all Americans,” the letter said. “Under his watch, we believe HHS – an agency that should protect human life, dignity, and enshrine the values of religious liberty – would be weaponized toward partisan and destructive ends.”
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