Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) told Xavier Becerra, President Joe Biden’s nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), they will not find “common ground” on partial-birth abortion during a Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday.
Romney asked Becerra, a longstanding champion of abortion on demand and advocate for the abortion industry, “You voted against a ban on partial-birth abortion. Why?”
“I understand that people have different deeply held beliefs on this issue,” Becerra responded. “We may not always agree on where to go, but I think we can find some common ground.”
Romney replied, “I think we can reach common ground on many issues, but on partial-birth abortion, it sounds like we are not going to reach common ground there.”
“I have worked, as I have mentioned, for decades trying to protect the health of men and women, young and old, and as attorney general, my job has been to follow the law and make sure others are following the law,” Becerra also said.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) also asked Becerra if he would make a commitment to “not using taxpayer money to fund abortions and abortion providers.”
“I can say to you that we will follow the law when it comes to the use of federal resources,” Becerra replied. “There I can make that commitment that we will follow the law.”
Braun remarked that Becerra’s reply was “not really the particular answer I was looking for.”
This week a coalition of more than 60 national and state pro-life leaders sent a letter to Senate leaders urging them to reject Becerra for the post of HHS secretary, referring to him as “an enemy to every pro-life policy and law.”
The coalition stated Becerra “has demonstrated complete disregard for the religious and moral convictions of those opposed to the brutal act of abortion,” and added his “radical record in public office as California’s Attorney General and member of Congress leads our organizations to ask you to reject Mr. Becerra’s nomination.”
The leaders emphasized some of the ways in which Becerra has attacked pro-life Americans, including:
- Attacking conscience protections
- Leading the charge fighting against defunding Planned Parenthood of its Title X Family Planning funds
- Taking the Little Sisters of the Poor and other groups to court to force them to violate their religious liberty protections
- Arguing against the Weldon Amendment and in favor of forcing healthcare entities to provide and pay for abortions
- Targeting pro-life pregnancy centers and pro-life journalists
- Exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to expand abortion by fighting to lift federal health restrictions on drug-induced abortions
When he was a member of Congress, Becerra voted against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.
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