WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) called for the appointment of pro-life Members to the Energy and Commerce Committee and for Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health. With voting on committee positions expected later this week, SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the following statement:
“The powerful Energy and Commerce Committee is the gateway for almost every pro-life protection America has consistently affirmed in polls and elections. Thus, it is deeply troubling to the entire pro-life movement that the front-runner for Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over life and death policies affecting unborn children, would have a mixed voting record on abortion. Congressman Fred Upton has voted to spend our tax dollars on embryo-destructive stem-cell research, research using tissue obtained from abortions and Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider. He’s voted against amendments that would have prevented the FDA from approving the abortion pill RU-486, and voted for an amendment that would not recognize unborn children as a victim in crimes against pregnant women, undermining the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
It is critical that the Energy and Commerce Committee reflect the values of the pro-life American majority that sent a freshman class to Congress with marching orders to end all federal funding of abortion. All new members of the full committee should embrace these pro-life values. Appointment of Congressman Joe Pitts (R-PA), champion in the fight against abortion in health care, to Chairman of Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a must-send message from GOP House leadership to pro-life America. For the pro-life movement, both of these points are non-negotiable.”
The Susan B. Anthony List spent $11 million during the 2010 midterm election cycle. Overall, the SBA List was involved in 90 races including 62 wins and 28 losses. Successes included: defeating 15 of 20 so-called “pro-life” Democrats who voted for abortion funding in the health care reform bill; increasing the number of pro-life women in the House by 70 percent; filling the void of pro-life women in the U.S. Senate and increasing the number of pro-life women governors from one to four.
For further information, please contact Kerry Brown at (703) 470-1926 or [email protected].
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