Break out the confetti, folks. The House of Representatives on a mostly party line vote passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a so-called pro-life bill that makes it illegal to murder an unborn baby after twenty weeks. Of course, it will still be acceptable to murder the child up to that point and even afterwards in cases of rape, incest, and to protect the mother’s life.
As you might expect, the legislation is likely going nowhere, as was the case the previous two times during the past four years the House passed the measure, because it’s dead-on-arrival when it reaches the Senate.
Even with a plan by Lindsey Graham to introduce the bill, and with a current 52-48 GOP majority—it was 54-46 during the previous failed attempt—the McConnell-led Senate simply lacks the political will and influence to reach the sixty-vote threshold necessary to end a certain Democrat filibuster. And even if McConnell mustered the courage to eliminate the filibuster rule, pro-abortion Republicans like Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME), along with several Republicans facing tough reelections next year, provide little hope of reaching a 51-vote majority.
So, why go through the hassle of voting on a bill that likely has no chance of becoming law? Because it’s election season.
With the failure to fully repeal Obamacare, Mickey and the gang are desperate to find another lie to feed conservatives as the 2018 election approaches. Just as McConnell did with the fake vote on the fake repeal of Obamacare, holding this phony vote allows GOP leadership to claim that they tried but failed because they didn’t have enough votes—a situation easily remedied if we give him more Republicans to work with.
This isn’t the first time the lying liars within the Republican party have used abortion as a political tool. Most recently, so-called conservative members of the GOP were willing to compromise on the abortion issue in order to pass the fake repeal of Obamacare earlier this year.
While it’s true that banning abortions after 20 weeks will save a few lives, the fact is, according to Planned Parenthood, nearly 99% of the murders of unborn babies occurs before 21 weeks, making the Pain Capable ban mostly window dressing. Not to mention that it fails to answer the question of why it’s okay to kill an unborn child simply because it doesn’t feel pain in the process. A life is still snuffed out.
The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is a despicable election-year ploy by the GOP. Nothing more. Nothing less. And pro-life conservatives shouldn’t fall for it.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
