Pelosi Praises the ‘Beautiful and Saintly Life’ of Congressman Who Had 100% Pro-Abortion Record
By CNSNews.com Staff | July 8, 2021 | 4:42pm EDT
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) on Thursday praised what she described as the “beautiful and saintly life” of Rep. John Lewis (D.-Calif.) who had a 100 percent pro-abortion voting record as scored by NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Pelosi made the remarks in a statement put out by her office to announce that she would be leading a Congressional delegation to San Diego on July 17 to participate in the christening of the U.S. Navy Ship John Lewis.
Lewis died last year on July 17.
“As House Speaker, I am deeply honored to lead this Congressional delegation of many friends of our beloved late Congressman John Lewis to honor his beautiful and saintly life,” said Pelosi.
“John Lewis was a warrior for freedom and, as a titan of the civil rights movement, his courage and goodness helped transform our nation,” she said. “In the halls of the Capitol, he was fearless in his pursuit of a more perfect union, whether fighting to defend voting rights, end anti-LGBTQ discrimination or respect the dignity and worth of every person.”
On its website, NARAL lists Lewis pro-abortion voting record as 100 percent from 2016 through his passing in 2020.
Here is the full text of Pelosi’s statement:
"Pelosi to Lead Congressional Delegation to San Diego for Christening of USNS John Lewis
"July 8, 2021
"Press Release
"San Francisco – Speaker Nancy Pelosi will lead a Congressional delegation to San Diego to participate in the Christening Ceremony for the USNS John Lewis, the first ship in the T-AO Fleet Oiler Program. The program is dedicated in honor of the late Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. The ceremony will take place July 17, 2021, one year after the Congressman’s passing.
"'As House Speaker, I am deeply honored to lead this Congressional delegation of many friends of our beloved late Congressman John Lewis to honor his beautiful and saintly life,' said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 'John Lewis was a warrior for freedom and, as a titan of the civil rights movement, his courage and goodness helped transform our nation. In the halls of the Capitol, he was fearless in his pursuit of a more perfect union, whether fighting to defend voting rights, end anti-LGBTQ discrimination or respect the dignity and worth of every person.'
"'Now, with the christening of the USNS John Lewis, America is honoring John Lewis’s life and leadership with a fitting tribute,' continued Speaker Pelosi. 'May the USNS John Lewis remind all who see it of the goodness and courage of John Lewis, and may it be an inspiration as we seek to carry on his mission: to build a future of liberty and justice for all.'
"The USNS John Lewis is the lead ship of the John Lewis class T-AO oilers, which are designed to transfer fuel to the Navy’s carrier strike groups operating at sea. The remaining oilers in the John Lewis class will be named after prominent civil rights leaders: USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206), USNS Earl Warren (T-AO 207), USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO 208), USNS Lucy Stone (T-AO 209) and USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO 210)."
Dems Push Taxpayer-Funded Abortions Overseas
Legislation would overturn policy Biden supported throughout his career
House Democrats are fighting for taxpayer-funded abortions through international aid in a bid to overturn a decades-long bipartisan agreement.
A spending bill advanced by the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittee Monday would repeal the Helms Amendment, which bans direct funding of abortions through foreign aid. The bill would also repeal the Mexico City policy, known by critics as the global gag rule, which prevents the United States from funding international organizations that are involved with abortion services. The policy has been implemented and repealed by presidents of opposing parties since its inception under President Ronald Reagan in 1985.
The United Nations Population Fund, which the Trump administration stopped funding in 2017 due to the group’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party’s family planning program, would receive a 50 percent increase in funding under the bill.
Supporters of the Helms Amendment and the Mexico City policy expressed concern with the U.S. government using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions globally.
"Repealing the Helms Amendment and funding United Nations Population Fund would endanger unborn lives worldwide and represent cultural imperialism of the worst kind, attempting to impose leftist values on countries whose people overwhelmingly reject them," Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, told the Washington Free Beacon. "This extremism is also widely opposed by Americans, and Democrats will be forced to answer for it next time voters head to the polls."
Pro-choice groups have long opposed the Helms Amendment and Mexico City policy, which they claim prevent funds from aiding vulnerable women across the globe in need of safe abortions.
"Study after study has demonstrated that the neocolonialist global gag rule devastates health care access for people around the world, especially those who already face systemic barriers to care," said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood. "And for nearly 50 years, the Helms Amendment has restricted people’s ability to make their own personal medical decisions, denying them access to comprehensive reproductive health care."
The Helms Amendment was passed in 1973, followed by the Hyde Amendment, which prevents U.S. tax dollars from funding abortions domestically, in 1976. President Joe Biden supported both measures throughout his Senate career but came out against the Hyde Amendment during the 2020 Democratic primary. Congressional Democrats may push the administration even further on the issue. The White House's May Budget proposal included the repeal of the Hyde Amendment but would leave the Helms Amendment in place.
Schilling said the president's flip-flop on the issue demonstrates the extremism of Democrats.
"For years now, Democrats have made clear that promoting abortion at every opportunity is among their highest priorities," Schilling said. "So it should come as no surprise that they are now pushing to use American tax dollars to export this gruesome industry overseas."
Rep. Barbara Lee (D., Calif.), chair of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittee, did not respond to a request for comment but celebrated the bill on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/RepBarbaraLee/status/1409619985576644614
Rep. Hal Rogers (R., Ky.), the ranking member of the subcommittee, criticized the bill during Monday’s hearing, noting the bipartisan support in recent decades for the abortion-funding amendments.
"Of greatest concern is the removal of the most important condition in any State-Foreign Operations bill—that no funds can be used to pay for abortion," Rogers said in his opening remarks. "This change is unprecedented, but it doesn’t stop there."
Prudence Robertson, communications associate at the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, told the Free Beacon the proposed bill makes clear that Democratic lawmakers want all budget restrictions on funding abortion to be removed.
"The Appropriations spending bills are home to not just the Hyde Amendment, but also to dozens of Hyde-like provisions known as pro-life riders," Robertson said. "Removal of these amendments are part of a concerted effort by extreme pro-abortion Democrats to gut all existing pro-life protections that have been included in the federal budget for decades."
While repealing the Helms Amendment will please abortion providers, it is likely to alienate voters. A Marist poll conducted in January found that 77 percent of respondents oppose global funding of abortion.
Study: Taxpayer-Funded Abortion Seekers Are Often Repeat Customers
Medicaid data paint grim picture of a post-Hyde Amendment world
Women receiving taxpayer-funded abortions often get multiple abortions within three years, according to Medicaid records.
A peer-reviewed study found that 60 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries who aborted their first pregnancy went on to abort their next one. This finding has sparked concerns that taxpayer-funded abortions can potentially incentivize the practice among poorer women, as nearly half of abortion patients live below the federal poverty level.
"Taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand often extends or exacerbates real challenges faced by brave women who are being exploited by a predatory abortion industry," Charles Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, said. "Pro-choice policymakers should recognize they offer women a poor choice and would do well to focus available resources on real support for women, including pregnancy help centers, community health centers, and other community-based resources that can address underlying needs."
The study reviewed data from 17 states that pay for abortions through Medicaid, a policy that could soon become the norm in America. Democrats, including President Biden, are pushing to expand taxpayer-funded abortion by eliminating the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal tax dollars from directly funding abortions. Tessa Longbons, a research associate with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, said the study shows a pattern of struggle among poorer women, contradicting public policy narratives that abortion is empowering.
"[The study] suggests that abortion hasn't been helpful to women: It hasn't been solving their problems and it hasn't been improving their health," she told the Washington Free Beacon. "We hear all the time that abortion is health care but looking at these numbers it's clearly not."
David Reardon of the Elliot Institute and Christopher Craver of the Charlotte Lozier Institute conducted the study. Reardon said his findings are consistent with similar studies, such as one that found that a minority of women who had abortions described the pregnancy as unwanted.
"Building on these earlier studies, our new analysis of the raw Medicaid data suggests that when a woman is pressured into an unwanted first abortion, those same conditions are likely to persist and contribute to rapid repeat second abortions," Reardon said.
American voters widely oppose Democratic positions on abortion, especially the party's defense of late-term abortion and taxpayer funding. A June poll from the Associated Press found that 61 percent of respondents support legal abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy, 34 percent in the second trimester, and 19 percent in the third trimester. A Marist poll in January found that 58 percent of respondents oppose funding abortion with tax dollars. Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, said the days of pro-choice politicians promoting "safe, legal, and rare" abortions are long gone.
"It has been clear for some time that abortions are very often not safe for women—and of course never safe for the unborn child," Schilling told the Free Beacon. "Now we are finding that legal abortions are also by their very nature not rare; in fact, one abortion frequently leads to another. This assembly line of death may be very profitable for grisly businesses like Planned Parenthood, but it is exacting a terrible cost on our society."
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