By George W. Sarris
I am not for abortion . . . I am for Women’s Rights! I want to see an end to sex discrimination and a raising up of the status of women! Abortions should be safe, legal, and rare. . . . Every abortion is a tragedy, but . . .
How many times have we heard pro-choice politicians tell the American people that their desire to defend a “woman’s right to choose” is motivated by an even deeper desire to end sex discrimination and make this tragic procedure as infrequent as possible?
No matter what their rhetoric . . . it’s all a lie!
The defeat on May 31 of the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act in the House – a bill that would have made abortion for the specific purpose of sex-selection illegal – made that very clear. Those who voted against the bill were not interested in making abortion rare. And, they were certainly not seeking to end sex discrimination or defend women’s rights . . . at least, not the right for women to exist!
What Kind of Abortions Did The Bill Address?
In the years after the Roe v Wade decision of the Supreme Court, the main argument put forth by those in favor of abortion was that it was necessary in cases of rape, incest, anticipated birth defects or threat to the life of the mother. It was clearly a façade to cover up the fact that only 2% of abortions were for all of those reasons combined, but that was one of the main arguments.
Now, the façade itself has been completely dismantled. Abortion “rights” are now strictly for the sake of convenience.
The text of the PRENDA Bill was very specific in defining what was targeted – abortions based solely on the sex of the unborn child.
(D) A ‘sex-selection abortion’ is an abortion undertaken for purposes of eliminating an unborn child of an undesired sex. . . . Sex-selection abortions are typically late-term abortions performed in the 2nd or 3rd trimester of pregnancy . . . By definition, sex-selection abortions do not implicate the health of the mother of the unborn, but instead are elective procedures motivated by sex or gender bias.
It’s no secret that the vast majority of sex-selection abortions worldwide terminate the lives of unborn baby girls. This is clearly the case in India, China, and even the United Kingdom. What is not so well known is that these countries have actually enacted restrictions on sex-selection abortions. The United States currently affords unborn baby girls less protection than they would have in the Republic of India or the People’s Republic of China.
The Bill itself pointed out that
Public statements from within the medical community reveal that citizens of other countries come to the United States for sex-selection procedures that would be criminal in their country of origin. Because the United States permits abortion on the basis of sex, the United States may effectively function as a ‘safe haven’ for those who seek to have American physicians do what would otherwise be criminal in their home countries--a sex-selection abortion, most likely late-term.
When Do Sex-Selection Abortions Occur?
After I learned of the results of the vote, I called the birthing center at a hospital near where I live to ask when they would be able to determine the sex of an unborn child. The answer was 18-20 weeks – with an “anatomy scan” or ultra sound. That is well into the second trimester.
To put that into perspective, it’s helpful to know that:
- a baby’s heart begins to beat within 3 weeks of conception with the child’s own blood, which is often a different type than the mother’s
- a baby’s brainwaves can be detected 6 weeks after conception
- at 8 weeks, every organ is in place, bones begin to replace cartilage, and fingerprints begin to form
- by week 12, the baby can suck its thumb
- babies can routinely be saved at 21 to 22 weeks after fertilization, and sometimes they can be saved even younger
- at 20 weeks, the baby can recognize its mother’s voice
The bill was not designed to be a witch hunt. It was designed to stop abortions purposely done because someone didn’t like the sex of the unborn child. The bill itself made that very clear:
(a) In General- Whoever knowingly--‘(1) performs an abortion knowing that such abortion is sought based on the sex, gender, color or race of the child, or the race of a parent of that child;‘(2) uses force or the threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion;‘(3) solicits or accepts funds for the performance of a sex-selection abortion or a race-selection abortion; or‘(4) transports a woman into the United States or across a State line for the purpose of obtaining a sex-selection abortion or race-selection abortion;or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
The Vote
The bill was defeated in a 246-168 vote. Because of the way it was introduced, it needed a two-thirds majority to pass. To make sex-selection abortions illegal in this country, the bill would have needed 30 more votes.
In an earlier blog post, I commented that abortion has very little to do with a woman’s “right to choose.” It has very much to do with a man’s “right” to sleep around! True to form, 120 men in Congress voted to continue to allow abortions to be performed in this country based solely on the sex of the unborn child.
What is even more tragic is that 48 Congresswomen voted the same way. Almost all of them are vocal proponents of their desire to prevent sex discrimination and promote the status of women. Their vote did not match their talk.
- Alabama – Terri Sewell
- California – Karen Bass, Mary Bono Mack, Lois Capps, Judy Chu, Susan Davis, Anna Eshoo, Janice Hahn, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, Doris Matsui, Nancy Pelosi, Laura Richardson, Lucille-Roybal-Allard, Loretta Sanchez, Linda Sanchez, Jackie Speier, Maxine Waters, and Lynn Woolsey
- Colorado – Diana DeGette
- Connecticut – Rosa DeLauro
- Florida – Corrine Brown, Kathy Castor, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Frederica Wilson
- Hawaii – Colleen Hanabusa, and Mazie Hirono
- Illinois – Janice Schakowsky
- Maine – Chellie Pingree
- Maryland – Donna Edwards
- Massachusetts – Niki Tsongas
- Minnesota – Betty McCollum
- New York – Yvette Clarke, Nan Hayworth, Kathleen Hochul, Nita Lowey, Carolyn Maloney, and Carolyn McCarthy
- Nevada – Shelley Berkley
- Ohio – Marcia Fudge, Marcy Kaptur, and Betty Sutton
- Oregon – Suzanne Bonamici
- Pennsylvania – Allyson Schwartz
- Texas – Sheilla Jackson-Lee
- Wisconsin – Tammy Baldwin, and Gwen Moore
Sex-selection abortions almost always target baby girls. Not letting a baby girl even be born is the ultimate form of sex discrimination . . . which is what those who say they are opposed to discrimination against women and are committed to making abortions rare should be concerned about.
People don’t like hypocrites. They want people whose walk matches their talk. The only “right” those who voted against this bill supported was the right to kill.
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