President Bush Building Strong Pro-Life Record

October 9, 2002—Washington, DC: President Bush demonstrated again last week that his opposition to abortion was more than a campaign promise and pro-life advocates say he now needs a pro-life Senate to be able to build on the success.

Both sides in the debate know that control of the Senate is critical, since the majority party will determine whether pro-life legislation will come to the floor, and whether the president's pro-life judicial nominations will move swiftly, or at all, through the confirmation process. Bush is likely to pick a Supreme Court nominee in the next two years and thus have a chance to create a pro-life majority.

''There is no question in my mind that it is Bush's intention to use the court to roll back Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose,'' said Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. ''If the Senate remains pro-choice, they are going to have a tougher time doing it.''

Last week, the president shifted $34 million out of the UN Population Fund, which he says coerces abortions in China.

Kenneth Conner, president of the pro-life Family Research Council, said it was ''bold and decisive'' to deny the funds.

''I think the president has taken some significant steps that affirm his desire to help refashion the culture of life in which every child is welcomed in life and protected in law,'' said Conner, whose group advocates a constitutional amendment to ban abortion.

The administration made the UN move days after it had set a policy allowing states to provide health insurance to unborn children, designating a baby before birth as eligible for government benefits. Pro-abortion groups say this is aimed at undermining the Roe v. Wade decision. Administration officials say their goal is to advance prenatal health care.

Last month, the White House strongly endorsed a pro-life bill passed in the House that permits hospitals and insurance companies to refuse to perform or to pay for abortions without losing their Medicare eligibility or other federal funding.

Opponents said the bill, which has not been considered by the Senate, would deny many women access to abortions.

''I think Bush really believes abortion should not be available to women,'' said Gloria Feldt, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. ''But more importantly, whenever he needs something to appease or energize the right wing of his constituency, Bush throws them a bone, and it is usually reproductive rights.''

A White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said: ''The president believes that we ought to be a culture that welcomes and respects life at all stages, and that is why he makes the decisions that are right for America.''

On his first day in office, Bush reinstated the Mexico Cioty Policy that prohibits federal funding of groups that promote or perform abortions in other countries.

Since then, the Bush administration has taken the following steps on abortion issues:

It has lobbied for a bill, passed by the House in July, that would ban partial-birth abortions. Senators backing the prohibition are trying to attach it to the legislation setting up the Office of Homeland Security.

It held a ceremony in August for Bush to sign the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which requires that medical care be given to babies who survive an abortion procedure and prosecuting anyone who denies lifesaving medical treatment in botched abortion situations.

It has endorsed the Child Custody Protection Act, which has been approved in the House. The bill, if cleared by the Senate, would make it illegal for non-parents to take minor girls to another state for secret abortions.

It has worked with the National Right to Life Committee on the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which punish criminals who attack pregnant mothers and, in so doing, kill or injure the unborn child.

Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, said the president has been ''very consistent'' in carrying out pro-life goals. And, Johnson said, Bush has ''pushed hard'' for a total ban on human cloning, another important pro-life issue.