Weekly Columns and Op-Eds

June 6, 2012

CONTACT: Apryl Marie Fogel, aprylmarie.fogel@mail.house.gov

*In response to last week’s vote on The Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act and video from Arizona released today by HotAir Congressman Paul Gosar penned the following blog*

Blog by: Congressman Paul Gosar, D.D.S (AZ-01)

Words: 646

Bloggers Corner- The Final Frontier for Civil Rights

           While we as Americans may disagree on many things, some things are so fundamental to our values that virtually everyone agrees. Conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats agree that people of all races and all genders should be able to vote, they should be able to pursue any career for which they are qualified, they should be able to go to good schools, they should be able to live wherever they choose, and so forth, regardless of race or gender.  This consensus was hard fought over decades, culminating in the passage of the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1920, which guaranteed women the right to vote and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which ensured equal rights and voting rights for people of all races.  Given America’s world leading commitment to equal rights under the law, it is shocking to find that it is perfectly legal to abort a child only because he or she is the wrong gender or the wrong race.  This is, quite simply, immoral.

I am a conservative, pro-life Congressman.  As a Catholic and a father of three wonderful children, it is clear to me that protecting innocent lives is the right thing to do.  While I believe that all life needs to be protected, Abortion is especially egregious when an unborn child is denied an opportunity to live because of its gender or race.  The idea that an innocent child with untold potential can be deprived of life only because of its gender or race is fundamentally against our basic values as a country.  Even those who defend the so called “right” of women to kill their unborn should understand that it is wrong to abort a child based on discrimination.  It is a direct contradiction to over 150 years of civil rights advancement. 

What’s more, we have examples of what happens when you allow discrimination to drive such decisions.  Other countries, such as China, have made a habit of sex selection based abortions.  Because of their cultural biases, they have aborted literally millions of baby girls, leading to a demographic “time bomb” that will cause huge social, political and economic upheaval in the not-too-distant future.   And we of all people should know what happens when you devalue someone based on race.  We fought our bloodiest war over it. 

That is why I co-sponsored H.R. 3541, “The Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act.”  H.R. 3541, introduced by my friend and fellow Arizona Representative Trent Franks, makes it illegal for a physician to perform an abortion when they know the abortion is being sought because of the race or gender of the child. Many Democrats, particularly minorities, all across America are pro-life and even those that are not should be justly horrified by the idea of abortion as a method of discrimination.  That is why I was disgusted and shocked to see that only 246 members of Congress voted for PRENDA last week in the House of Representatives. While a majority of Congress did vote yes on passage, the bill was brought up under suspension of House rules which required a two thirds majority. I am deeply saddened that we fell short, and I hope that House leadership will work with Mr. Franks to hold a regular vote on this bill to send it to the Senate.

I believe that abortion is the single most important civil rights issue of our time. It is particularly troublesome that radical liberals, who generally want government regulation and interference in all spheres of life—including the size of soda cans and what food we should eat—blocked this bill. To some, protecting grown adults from choosing to super size it is more important than eradicating discrimination and protecting innocent life.  I will not accept this perversion of morality. Our children deserve much better, no matter what their color or gender.