If it were up to both of Arizona’s U.S. Senators, the radical Women’s Health Protection Act would have passed this week, codifying Roe v Wade into federal law. Both Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly voted Wednesday to advance the extreme abortion bill. Gratefully, the total vote fell far shy of the 60 votes needed, with no Republican support and one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia voting against ending a filibuster to allow a full vote on the bill.

The bill was expected to fail but pro-abortion activists and politicians wanted to get senators on the record leading up to the November elections. With a vote of 49 in favor and 51 against the motion, it didn’t even garner a simple majority.

Abortion activists have blown right by former President Bill Clinton’s call for abortion to be “legal, rare, and safe,” straight to “on demand, at any stage of development, even up to birth, and without restriction.”

The WHPA goes beyond Roe, which already allows abortion up to the point of birth. The bill would actually expand abortion and wipe hundreds of state abortion regulations off the books.

Senator Manchin said he voted against it because it goes too far. He also said he is pro-life but supports Roe. I do not pretend to understand how those two positions square.

As Arizonans, it’s important to know where our own senators are on this truly extreme bill.

Senator Mark Kelly wrote on his website: “I’m about to go over to the floor to vote for the Women’s Health Protection Act. For almost 50 years now, women have had a right to an abortion, and to make decisions about their own health care. And that is possibly going to change with this decision by the Supreme Court. This legislation that we’re going to vote on would fix that. Now, I’m really concerned, because I have a one-year-old granddaughter. And if what the Supreme Court did last week actually becomes the law, then my granddaughter will have fewer rights than my grandmother. And that just takes us in the wrong direction—a giant leap backwards.  So, I’m going to vote to make sure that women can make these decisions for themselves, and we’re going to protect women’s health care.”

Senator Kyrsten Sinema co-sponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act. After the vote, she Tweeted: “A woman’s health care choices should be between her, her family, and her doctor. I voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act and will continue working with anyone to protect women’s ability to make decisions about their futures.”

This, again, puts both Arizona U.S. Senators in support of abortion on demand, without most regulations to protect the unborn life or the mother.

The Latest on the Leak

 More details continue to surface after it was revealed the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v Wade. The latest news indicates it could be a while before the final opinion is released, given a new report stating dissenting opinions have yet to be circulated among justices. Countering opinions usually go back and forth prior to releasing a final opinion. The report also indicates the draft opinion overturning Roe retains its five-justice majority at this point.

A Violent Reaction

 The leaked draft opinion in the Dobbs case overturning Roe sent many pro-abortion activists into a fit of rage. They vandalized a number of pro-life organizations throughout the country, breached at least one Catholic church service on Mother’s Day, and firebombed the office of Wisconsin Family Action, a fellow Family Policy Council (FPC) ally of Center for Arizona Policy.

You have, no doubt, also heard of the protests outside the homes of Supreme Court justices who support the reversal of Roe. A security fence now surrounds the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington DC.

All of this in outrage over the Court placing abortion law back in the hands of citizens and their state representatives – and in an effort to influence justices to change their votes.

Much of the reaction is based on ignorance of the breadth of Roe and the result of overturning it. Polls show a majority of Americans don’t understand that Roe allows abortion up to the point of birth, or that overturning Roe does not suddenly make abortion illegal nationwide.

How to Talk About Roe’s Apparent Demise

Correcting misunderstandings and mischaracterizations is key to understanding where Arizonans, and all Americans stand on the issue of abortion. Polls show that when Americans know the truth about Roe, they reject Roe. A few important points about abortion law under Roe:

• Life is a human right. Everyone deserves a chance to live.
• Abortion law under Roe is extreme, allowing abortion to the point of birth and rivaling such human rights violators as North Korea and China. Even most of Europe limits abortion to the first trimester.
• Science reveals the developing human life inside a mother’s womb. It’s a matter of biology, not ideology. And a simple ultrasound removes all doubt that the baby is its own human being.
• No woman facing an unplanned pregnancy stands alone. Nearly 50 pro-life pregnancy resource centers serve Arizona women in such circumstances, providing baby formula, diapers, car seats, prenatal care, parenting classes, adoption assistance and more.
• The fall of Roe does not mean the end of abortion, it puts abortion law back in the hands of voters and their state lawmakers.

 

ICYMI

• Read here how the pro-abortion outrage over the apparent fall of Roe reveals a commitment to power, not the Constitution.
• Read here how the pro-life movement stands ready to help women facing unplanned pregnancies.
• Read or listen here for Al Mohler’s take on this week’s vote to codify Roe into federal law.

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