Tillman silence opponents who say his only focus is foreign policies with Pro-Life commentary
March 25, 2022. I am a Christian man who believes that God is the architect for all living things. America is a God-loving nation, and we must protect life. Far more Americans now identify as “pro-life,” Most believe that federal law should significantly limit abortion to the first trimester. Women must be able to access the best care possible without taxpayers subsidizing organizations accused of profiting off body parts of aborted children. We must also respect the dignity of life and resist the recent push for widespread acceptance of physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Following are my recommendations to protect American mothers and babies born and unborn.
Create pro-life policies at the federal level. Current legislation like the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would protect women and unborn children from horrible late-term abortions after 20 weeks. Almost half of the states across the country have enacted similar bills. Similar policies are included in the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act and the Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act, which prohibits doctors from dismembering a living unborn child in utero and removing the baby’s body parts one piece at a time. It is only suitable to treat a baby born alive after a botched abortion with the same care that any other newborn baby would receive.
End taxpayer funding for elective abortion here and abroad. There is a well-established, broad agreement that federal funds should not be used for elective abortions. Lawmakers should close the hodgepodge of federal restrictions on abortion funding by making policies such as the Hyde Amendment permanent across federal law. We should also end the doubtfulness over the Mexico City Policy executive order, prohibiting federal aid from international organizations promoting or performing abortions overseas. Because that policy depends on which party is in the White House, Congress should enact permanent restrictions on taxpayer funding of international abortion activity.
Redirect federal funding of Planned Parenthood to health centers not engaged in abortion. Planned Parenthood affiliates performed more than 330,000 abortions in past reporting, while the national organization reported over $245 million in excess revenue and held $1.9 billion in net assets. Planned Parenthood also says its affiliates received over $560 million in government funding and over $630 million in private contributions. Along with waste and abuse, Planned Parenthood affiliates face accusations of failure to report the sexual abuse of minor girls, potential fraud with taxpayer dollars, and allegations of profiting from the sale of organs from aborted babies. We should end taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and all other abortion providers and redirect these funds to health centers without involvement in abortion that provides health care for women.
Protect the conscience rights of doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners. Congress has protected the rights of conscience based on moral convictions and religious beliefs. These protections ensure that individuals and groups are not compelled to participate in practices that violate their sincere moral, ethical, or religious convictions. But pro-life individuals and groups have limited options if this fundamental civil right is violated. The Conscience Protection Act would guarantee vigorous enforcement of federal conscience protections and provide a private right of action to anyone claiming to have been affected by discrimination.
Resist the lobby for physician-assisted suicide (PAS). More than 100 legislative proposals across America have been to allow physician-assisted suicide. California, Colorado, and the District of Columbia have recently legalized it. Legalizing PAS is a severe mistake that endangers the weak and vulnerable, compromises the family and intergenerational commitments, corrupts the practice of medicine and the doctor-patient relationship, and betrays human dignity and equality before the law. Countries that have to use PAS and euthanasia imply that safeguards meant to limit PAS eligibility to the terminally ill or certify autonomous consent often fail to assure effective control. Instead of adopting PAS, we should focus on the benefits of palliative care, which can improve a patient’s quality of life.
Jimmy Lee Tillman II is an author, historian, and the founder of the Martin Luther King Republicans. He is also an Academy fellow at the Heritage Foundation, active with the American First Policy Institute, and Illinois GOP candidate for U.S. Senate.
Jimmy Lee is a father of 2 sons, a daughter, and paw paw of a grandson.
