Family Leader message implies Iowa Senate Dems seek opposite of ‘Judeo-Christian ethics’
The latest supporter message sent by Iowa religious conservatives Chuck Hurley and Danny Carroll on behalf of The Family Leader and Iowa Family Policy Center completely focuses on late-term abortion, and serves as a call to action for the state’s anti-abortion activists. Those in the state who want to ban abortion services will never have an opportunity, according to the e-mail message, until the 26 Senate Democrats who continue to block such efforts are persuaded or replaced
Jul 31, 2020153.3K Shares2.9M Views
The latest supporter message sent by Iowa religious conservatives Chuck Hurleyand Danny Carrollon behalf of The Family Leaderand Iowa Family Policy Centercompletely focuses on late-term abortion, and serves as a call to action for the state’s anti-abortion activists.
Those in the state who want to ban abortion services will never have an opportunity, according to the e-mail message, until the 26 Senate Democrats who continue to block such efforts are persuaded or replaced.
“It’s time we return to the Judeo-Christian ethics that made this country so great. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats are pursuing an opposite direction,” Carrol and Hurley write.
Democratic Sens. Tom Hancockand Joe Seng, who broke ranks with their caucus to force a bill placing ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy from committee, were provided no preferential treatment by the conservatives.
“We have been blocked at every turn by the 26 Democrat Senators, including so-called pro-life Democrats Joe Seng and Tom Hancock,” notes the message.
As the end of the session looms, Hurley says that “it is clear to Danny and me” that bills they perceive as being positive for families will not be allowed passage with Democrats in control of the Senate, and provides a link to an update from Sen. Kent Sorenson (R-Indianola) for an “inside look at the situation.”
Sorenson’s report makes it clear that persuasion of Democratic lawmakers shouldn’t be an option.
“My recommendation?” asks Sorenson. “I’d say that contacting guys like Gronstal and [Sen. Joe] Bolkcom is a waste of time if your intention is to persuade them to do the ‘right thing.’ Only God and prayer can accomplish that. Rather, continue to barrage them with emails and phone calls to get them on the record. Put it in your minds and remember the blood on their hands.
“And when the election season comes around, show them no mercy, and give them no quarter. They don’t. I can personally say that in the political arena, they sure don’t. And the babies who pay with their precious lives are an eternal testament to that fact.”
Bolkcomfloor managed Senate File 534, which was written to prevent late-term abortion clinics from opening in Iowa without prior state approval and proximity to adequate medical facilities. Bolkcom, as Sorenson laments, is from an Iowa City District with a high Democratic voter advantage that has long favored medical privacy issues, including a woman’s right to privately control her own reproductive health. Likely for that reason, most of Sorenson’s ire and call to action is focused on Gronstal, who represents more competitive Council Bluffs.
Gronstal, according to Sorenson, “is the architect of the rules of the Iowa Senate” and “never (and I mean NEVER) compromises his core principles.” For those two reasons, Sorenson dubs the Senate Majority Leader “almost a mini-deity in Iowa politics.”
Senate Democrats, Sorenson notes, use their chamber majority to kill proposed legislation in committee, while adding that he forced a committee decision on the House bill banning abortions after 20 weeks. (It lost, 26-23, but Sorenson says his mission of “separating the wheat from the chaff” was accomplished.)
“I have to admit that it felt good to use their own rules to force them to expose their true colors,” he wrote.
In Hurley’s and Carroll’s note to supporters, they indicate that The Family Leader organization has “assisted Senate Republicans with efforts” to push a ban on abortion services.
“Suffice it to say that we at The Family Leader, along with other pro-life lobbyists, have looked for every way possible to get meaningful votes on key pro-life legislation,” they write.
House Republicans, who received Senate File 534 Tuesday, are working on more new abortion legislation, write Hurley and Carroll.
The Iowa Legislature was scheduled to end April 29, and lawmakers continue to face gridlock on fundamental budgeting issues like allowable growth for K-12 education, property tax reform and Gov. Terry Branstad’s two-year proposal. It remains unclear exactly how much longer taxpayers will need to fund this extended legislative session.
Rhyley Carney
Reviewer
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