LAST MINUTE NEWS, March 4, 2000

A PRO-LIFE VICTORY!

Click here to read the Immediate Action Alert related to this.

Friday, March 3, 2000

To: CAP board members and friends of CAP
From: Len Munsil, President

(1) PRO-LIFE VICTORY IN ARIZONA HOUSE!" Praise God for a good pro-life day in a pro-abortion Legislature," said CAP Legislative Counsel Cathi Herrod after the House voted 32-23 to approve HB-2708, the "Jackie Doe" bill late Thursday afternoon. This victory, which was not expected, came after two pro-abortion legislators switched from "no" to "yes" just before voting was closed. Thirty-one votes are needed for final passage, but the tally sat at 30 for more than a minute until Rep. Barry Wong, who was being lobbied by sponsor Rep. Laura Knaperek, became the needed 31st vote. As CAP Legislative Coordinator Ken Karouzos describes it, an "eerie silence" came over the crowd and conversations ceased while this bill was being voted on. More than a half-dozen pro-abortion lobbyists, including Planned Parenthood CEO Bryan Howard, recovered quickly from their shock and began making cell phone calls to plan their efforts to stop HB-2708 in the Senate. This bill, named after the 14-year-old ward of the state who was sent to Kansas for a very late-term abortion last summer, would establish Arizona’s policy against sending children out of state for abortions they could not obtain here. It would require that girls in state custody receive full information about their options before being granted an abortion, and it would allow any state employees to refuse as a matter of conscience to assist in transporting or otherwise helping with an abortion for a ward of the state.

(2) Cathi Herrod and Ken Karouzos briefed top staff members for Gov. Hull this morning on the progress of bills CAP is actively lobbying, along with some related pro-family measures we support. The meeting went very well. We make every effort each session to keep Gov. Hull updated on pro-family issues so we can address any potential problems beforehand, and hopefully avoid an unnecessary veto.

(3) The victory on abortion clinic regulations achieved last year is now in jeopardy, as the Center for Law and Reproductive Policy filed suit Thursday in federal court in Tucson to block the new clinic regulations from taking effect April 1. I wish I could say we are surprised, but we are not. The abortionists give no ground without a fight, whether the issue is the health of women or the viability of children. When we beat them at the Capitol, they go crying to the courts, and they have enough money to last as long as it takes. So here we go again, as we will likely have to rely on pro-abortion lawyers for the state to represent our views, since we lack the resources to engage in high-cost litigation with the abortion industry. Please pray for wisdom for the federal judge who will hear this case. We must be as tenacious in the defense of innocent human lives as those who profit from their destruction.

Copyright Children of the Rosary 2005. P.O. Box 1028, Scottsdale, AZ 85252-1028.
Updated February 29, 2000.