Developments in the Civil Rights Battle of This Generation

Several politicians and media figures claim to have put their finger on the civil rights issue of this generation.  Presidential hopeful Cory Booker sees gun control as the civil rights issue of our time.  Margaret Hoover saw the legalization of same-sex marriage as the civil rights issue of the 21^st century.  As for me, I see the battle to end abortion as the civil rights issue of my generation. For this reason, I included the overturning of Roe v. Wade as item number one on my “political bucket list” and listed the passage of a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution as item number two.

I wrote a blog identifying the battle to end abortion as the civil rights issue of this generation early last year, identifying it as “the civil rights issue no one is talking about.”  A lot has changed since then.  The year 2019 has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that this civil rights battle has heated up, whether people want to come out and call it a civil rights issue or not. 

Since writing that blog, all hell broke loose on Capitol Hill with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh’s nomination came after the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, the “swing vote” on the Court who has a mixed voting record when it comes to the issue of abortion and other social issues. Pro-abortion activists feared that the appointment of a conservative justice to the Supreme Court would put their precious Roe v. Wade in jeopardy.  Two days after his nomination, Ann Coulter explained liberals’ opposition to Kavanaugh; arguing that he threatened their “right to cheat.”  She, or anyone else, could not have predicted how ugly his confirmation process would become.

Justice Kavanaugh’s nomination started out no different than most other Supreme Court nominations.  Republicans did not have to worry as much about confirming Kavanaugh, as they had abolished the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees during the confirmation process for Neil Gorsuch.  It looked like the Kavanaugh vote would closely mirror the Gorsuch vote, with all Republicans and a handful of Democrats from conservative states voting in favor of his nomination and all other Democrats voting against it.  Justice Kavanaugh made it through his confirmation hearings unbruised and it looked like he would make it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party line vote; with the full Senate voting to confirm him by the end of September.

However, the situation changed when an extremely vague, uncorroborated, decades-old sexual assault allegation emerged against Kavanaugh; dating back to his high school days.  The Republican-led Judiciary Committee agreed to let his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, testify before the committee while Democrats demanded that Kavanaugh rescind his nomination. Other far less credible allegations against Kavanaugh quickly emerged as the left did everything in their power to sink the Kavanaugh nomination.  Even after Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh told their sides of the story to the Senate Judiciary Committee, it looked like Kavanaugh would make it through the committee on a party-line vote.  That changed when angry feminist protesters confronted Arizona Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator and berated him for announcing his intention to support Kavanaugh.  In response to this “exchange,” Flake announced that he would only support Kavanaugh if the FBI had time to complete a one-week investigation into the allegations against him.

Following the completion of the FBI investigation, the Kavanaugh vote all came down to Susan Collins, a Republican Senator from Maine. Collins, who sympathizes with the opposing view in the civil rights battle of this generation, bravely announced her support for Kavanaugh in a speech on the Senate floor.  Kavanaugh ultimately made it onto the Court, following a confirmation vote of 50-48; with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski voting “present” and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin breaking with his party and voting for Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Two positive developments in the civil rights issue of this generation took place on Election Day 2018.  A Constitutional amendment recognizing fetal rights passed with nearly 60 percent of the vote in Alabama.  This amendment declared “the state’s policy to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life, the rights of unborn children including a right to life in all manners and measures appropriate and lawful,” in addition to making it clear that “the Constitution does not protect the right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”  A Constitutional amendment to restrict public funding of abortion narrowly passed in West Virginia; this amendment clarified that the State Constitution “does not secure or protect abortion rights or require funding for them,” in addition to making it clear that “Medicaid funds would no longer be allowed to be used for abortions.”

While the pro-life movement got to enjoy the sweet taste of victory on Election Day, so did the folks on the other side of the civil rights issue of this generation.  Oregon had previously passed a radical abortion law that would allow abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy in addition to mandating that insurance companies provide the procedure at no cost to the patient.  A referendum to prohibit the use of public funds “directly or indirectly for abortions or health plans/insurance covering abortion” failed by a nearly 2-1 margin. 

The battle over the civil rights issue of this generation has become even more heated in 2019.  The New York General Assembly began its session by passing the “Reproductive Health Act,” with Governor Andrew Cuomo signing it into law on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade to the applause of Democrats and lighting up buildings in the Big Apple in the color pink to celebrate the “victory.” The left in New York has long fantasized about passing this barbaric piece of legislation; however, Republican control of the State Senate has prevented their dreams from coming true. Following the 2018 election, Democrats gained control of the State Senate; creating a unified Democratic government in the Empire State.  The bill allows abortion “at any time when necessary to protect a women’s life or health” and repealed “criminal charges for harming children in the womb.” 

Lawmakers in other states have floated similar legislation.  In Virginia, Democratic delegate Kathy Tran proposed a bill that would allow abortion all the way through the third trimester in order to protect a woman’s “mental” or “physical” health. Because Republicans still control the legislature, the monstrous bill failed to make it out of committee.  That could all change if Democrats retake control of both houses of the legislature this fall. It looked likely that a radical abortion bill would pass in New Mexico but fortunately it failed to make it out of the Senate because “eight courageous Democrats who stood up to party leaders both in New Mexico and across the nation” voted against it, as a press release from the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List pointed out.  Unfortunately, it looks like my current state of Rhode Island may follow in the footsteps of my native state of New York and pass a radical abortion bill.

On the other side of the aisle, heartbeat bills that would ban abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, usually around six weeks gestation, have passed in three states; Georgia, Mississippi, and Ohio. The judicial branch, at both the state and federal level, has prevented heartbeat bills from going into effect in Iowa and Kentucky.  Like the original civil rights movement to end slavery, the folks seeking to deny the humanity of a certain group of Americans have a strong ally in the judicial branch.  Remember that the Supreme Court decision Dred Scott v. Sanford, issued shortly before the Civil War, ruled that the Constitution did not protect the rights for African-Americans.  It took a bloody Civil War, three Constitutional amendments, and subsequent legislation and Supreme Court decisions to guarantee equal rights for African-Americans.  Hopefully, the battle to secure protection for unborn Americans will not require bloodshed. 

In recent weeks, pro-lifers have had to deal with physical and verbal abuse as they have peacefully protested outside abortion clinics and/or simply tried to inform people of the facts about abortion.  An 85-year-old man peacefully protesting outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic in San Francisco, one of the epicenters of the pro-choice movement, faced the wrath of a much younger Planned Parenthood supporter who tried to steal his “40 Days for Life” banner. The assailant knocked him to the ground and repeatedly kicked him.  On the other side of the country, Pennsylvania State Representative Brian Sims harassed a mother and her two children as they peacefully protested outside of the Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.  He offered $100 to any of his social media followers willing to reveal their address while calling them pseudo-Christians and racists.  During an interview on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Ashley Garecht, the mother whom Sims harassed said that her eldest daughter and her friend, who also protested with the Garechts in front of the Planned Parenthood, said “that was nothing compared to what people were screaming at us at the March For Life in January.” Sims once again descended on the same Planned Parenthood two weeks later, where he harassed and threatened to dox an elderly woman.  Sims has made his contempt for pro-life demonstrators perfectly clear on Twitter; referring to them as “scum” and describing them as “racist, classist bigots who need and deserve our RIGHTEOUS opposition.”

In response to Sims’s repeated harassment of pro-life demonstrators, pro-life groups organized a “Pro-Life Rally Against Bullying” outside of the Philadelphia Planned Parenthood.  Speakers included Lila Rose, President of Live Action and Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood employee who has become a pro-life activist, as documented in the movie “Unplanned.” In spite of the short notice, the event boasted a turnout of more than 1,000.   

Pro-abortion activists on college campuses have also expressed outrage that the opposing point of view even has a platform.  A liberal student on the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill campus punched a pro-life activist from the group “Created Equal” because she felt “triggered” by the horrific photos of aborted children the group had on display.  She also called him a “f***ing terrible person” and ironically shouted “this is not okay!” as if assaulting someone fits into the “okay” category.  

In a way, Joe Biden had it right when he talked about “a battle for the soul of America.”  How to deal with a black mark on the soul of America, the nationwide legalization of abortion, constitutes an important part of that battle.  This battle will come to a head in 2020; as America will have a choice between the first President to ever address a March for Life via satellite and his Democratic opponent, who will likely cater to the demands of the pro-abortion lobby.  The results of the 2020 Presidential Election will have a significant impact, positive or negative, on the civil rights issue of this generation.