I do not support every plank that the Republican Party puts forth, nor do I support every politician that takes up the 'Red' banner.
Those who get my vote, such as George W. Bush, sometimes only get it because they are better than lousy liberal alternatives.
I am also a proud father and grandfather of three beautiful daughters and a wonderful granddaughter, the husband of a loving wife, and a brother-in-law, cousin, uncle, nephew, co-worker, neighbor, and friend to many outstanding women.
All that prefaces my position now in full support of a bill (HR3) put forth by New Jersey's outstanding congressman Chris Smith that would essentially end any taxpayer funding of abortions, as well as any tax breaks for health insurance that covers the same.
The usual suspects in the liberal community, from the radical fringe such as MoveOn, to the agenda-driven Planned Parenthood, to supposedly mainstream Democrats looking to protect their political power, are predictably against this legislative initiative.
However, as usual, they don't stop at simply voicing common sense opposition in a debate of ideas. Instead they have stooped to tactics such as using code words, spreading divisiveness, and misinterpretation.
The tactic chosen to oppose the anti-abortion legislation, or as those of us firmly on the side of right and good choose to call it, the pro-life legislation, is incredibly and intentionally ugly. They have chosen to paint Republicans as somehow supporting, denying, or minimizing the crime of rape.
They are saying that Republicans are trying to "redefine rape", and have actually stated in some forums that to Republicans, rape is no longer rape.
I find that kind of rhetoric, and that's all it is, political and social rhetoric, to be patently offensive. As a man who has all of the above listed women in his life, I can tell you for a fact that to me and all Republicans, rape is rape is rape.
I would be sympathetic to and supportive of any woman in my own life who might experience this crime. In fact, a couple of them have experienced it. The same statement of sympathy and support can be said for Representative Smith, Republican leader John Boehner, and every other Republican politician.
Of course, this is not the issue that the legislation relates to at all. The legislation aims to back up with concrete action one of the basic platform items in the party's 'Pledge to America' when it won control of congress in the elections of November 2010.
As Boehner has stated "Our members feel very strongly about the sanctity of human life." A simple reading of the actual legislation easily shows that Republicans indeed have a heart.
The first handful of sections, 301-304, state the long-held party position against the murder of innocent babies in the womb. Those sections call for a prohibition on the funding of abortions themselves, for health care plans that cover abortions, on tax benefits relating to abortion, and on federal facilities and employees being used in the killings.
Then section 309 clearly reads that these limitations shall not apply to "situations where the pregnancy occurred because the pregnant female was the subject of an act of forcible rape or, if a minor, an act of incense."
It further reads that the limitations shall not apply in the case "where the pregnant female suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the pregnant female in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself."
Common sense legislation that respects and allows provisions for women who have been attacked, abused, taken advantage of, or placed in danger.
Legislation that also is standing up against the killing of innocent lives simply because someone was irresponsible, lazy, careless, negligent, or just plain-old heartless and uncaring.
Once again, and per usual, a simple actual reading of the actual legislation being presented shows the truth for those who are willing to seek it out.
So do not allow yourself to be persuaded by headline-grabbing, blog-clogging, radical lefty propaganda campaigns currently underway. Actually take the time and effort to read the legislation yourself. Then make your own decision.
But make no mistake, we Republicans love and care for the women in our lives, and we will not be "redefining rape" at all.
Rape is rape, and it is morally wrong. Just as morally wrong as the murder of innocent children whose only "fault" is one of being an inconvenient burden to an irresponsible parent.
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