Rising in the polls for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders is feeling his oats and his campaign released today a list of executive orders he would sign on Day 1 if he were to become president. One of the top agenda items on his list is forcing Americans to fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
The Washington Post reviewed an internal campaign document from the Sanders campaign, which shows overturning President Trump’s pro-life policy is one of the first things he will do as president. Sanders would immediately sign an executive order to that effect.
During his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order known as the Mexico City Policy or the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Act that revoked taxpayer funding to the International Planned Parenthood abortion business.
The policy prohibits taxpayer funding to international groups that promote and/or provide abortions overseas, the biggest of which is the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Trump’s decision applied to nearly nine billion dollars in U.S. taxpayer funds to foreign non-governmental organizations. The policy ensures U.S. funds continue to go to health care, humanitarian relief, and even family planning; it only blocks funding to those groups like IPPF that perform or promote abortion in other nations. Ultimately, that cost Planned Parenthood’s international abortion company $100 million.
Since that order, the Trump administration has expanded it to cover additional foreign funding – disqualifying the abortion giant from other taxpayer revenue streams.
Last March, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Trump Administration announced new enforcement mechanism designed to expand this executive order to the broadest extent possible. Pompeo announced that the U.S. State Department will refuse to work with any foreign non-governmental organization (NGO) engaged in the abortion business. The State Department will also refuse to fund foreign NGOs that give money to other foreign NGOs engaged in the international abortion industry.
Leading pro-life groups praised President Trump and the expansion of the pro-life foreign policy.
“By ensuring enforcement and compliance with existing pro-life policies, Secretary of State Pompeo and the Trump Administration reaffirm their commitment to protecting innocent human life at home and abroad,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “We applaud Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for his dedicated pro-life leadership and for his efforts to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund or promote abortion overseas.”
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Family Research Council President Tony Perkins commented: “The abortion industry is well known for relentlessly pursuing taxpayer dollars — and will exploit any opportunity to grab US taxpayer funds. Thankfully, President Trump and Secretary Pompeo are just as relentless in working to ensure taxpayers aren’t forced into a partnership with the abortion industry overseas.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, also praised the president in remarks to LifeNews.com.
“The Trump administration has been the most pro-life administration in history, and Secretary Pompeo and President Trump should be thanked for closing the loopholes that allowed NGOs to take our taxpayer dollars and give them to sub-contractors that commit or promote abortions. This is an 80-20 issue, and the American people have made it clear they do not want their taxpayer dollars subsidizing abortions. This step will start to rectify the mistakes we made in enshrining abortion into Kenya’s constitution, a grave mistake made by the Obama administration,” she explained.
This policy will close the 90 to 95% of the loopholes that allowed NGOs to skirt the Mexico City Policy’s prohibitions on taxpayer-funding of abortions through foreign aid dollars, Hawkins said. According to the announcement, NGOs will have to provide certification to the State Department that they are not involved with abortions.
It’s no surprise that Sanders would force Americans to fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business, since he has a n extensive record supporting abortions up to birth.
Sanders’ views on abortion are, perhaps, the most radical of all the Democratic presidential candidates, but every top contender supports unrestricted taxpayer-funded abortions up to birth and he calls killing babies in abortions a constitutional right.
In September during the CNN climate town hall, Sanders went further than the rest by arguing for more abortions as a population control measure.
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Sanders has a 100-percent pro-abortion voting record in the Senate, including a recent vote against a bill to protect newborns from infanticide. In April, he also tried to justify his position allowing unborn babies to be aborted for any reason up to birth. Sanders told the Fox News town hall that late-term abortions are “okay” because they are “rare.” About 12,000 late-term unborn babies are aborted each year.
In 2018, he voted against a bill to ban later abortions — a bill that would have saved as many as 18,000 unborn babies from abortions every year. The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would have banned abortions after 20 weeks when unborn babies are nearly fully formed and capable of feeling intense pain.
Though Democrat leaders claim their radical pro-abortion stance represents the majority, polls show otherwise. Two new polls this week from Marist and Gallup show strong public opposition to abortion on demand.
According to Marist, more than six in 10 Americans (62%) say that if the Supreme Court revisits Roe v. Wade it should allow states to determine restrictions (46%) or make abortion illegal (16%). Only 33% of Americans say Roe v. Wade should be interpreted to allow for legal abortion any time without restriction.
Gallup found that 58% of Americans are not satisfied with current abortion laws, and more want stricter laws that limit or ban abortions.
