Richard A. Sokerka
It might have gone unnoticed because it happened on Holy Thursday, April 13, but pro-life leaders certainly did not miss its significance.
It was on that date that President Trump signed a repeal of what pro-lifers called President Obama’s “parting gift to the abortion industry.”
One of the former president’s last acts before he left office was to sign a rule that helped Planned Parenthood by stopping states from disqualifying any entity that received federal funds if they provided abortions. But that ended with President’s Trump signature on a bill that now allows states to strip funding from Planned Parenthood.
The bill the President signed into law is enormously important. It not only will save untold lives in the womb, it fulfills another of the promises he made during his campaign to those who seek to protect the unborn. The President signed the bill following a Senate vote where Vice President Mike Pence, a committed pro-lifer, was called in to cast the deciding vote.
Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, said, “We thank President Trump for restoring states’ freedom to direct taxpayer dollars away from abortion providers in favor of supporting community health centers that deliver comprehensive women’s care.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, president, said, “This simply ensures that states are not forced to fund an abortion business with taxpayer dollars. Rather, states have the option to spend Title X money on comprehensive health care clinics that better serve women and girls,” she said.
In the first 100 days of this new administration, more has been done to protect the unborn than ever before.