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Missouri Committee Blames Abortion for Need for Illegal Immigration

By Peter J. Smith

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, November 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Missouri state panel is under fire for issuing a report that blames 33 years of legalized abortion for the United States’ increasing dependence on illegal immigration. Missouri’s House Special Committee on Immigration Reform also credited "liberal social welfare policies" for discouraging Americans from working jobs taken by illegal immigrants.

The report stated: "Suggestions for how to stop illegal hiring varied without any simple solution. The lack of traditional work ethic, combined with the effects of 30 years of abortion and expanding liberal social welfare policies have produced a shortage of workers and a lack of incentive for those who can work." The report then added, “Today’s growing affinity for government dependency has created a class of potential employees who are not eager to work.”

Rep. Edgar G.H. Emery (R), the panel's chairman, inserted the statements into the report, which was signed by all 10 Republican committee members, except 6 Democrats, who objected to Emery’s assertions.

"There's a lot of editorial comment there that I couldn't really stomach," Rep. Trent Skaggs (D) said yesterday according to the Associated Press. "To be honest, I think it's a little delusional."

However, Emery contended common sense dictates that the permanent loss of 17-22 million potential American taxpayers of working age from 1973’s Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton has made a direct impact on American businesses turning to illegal aliens for workers.

"We hear a lot of arguments today that the reason that we can't get serious about our borders is that we are desperate for all these workers," Emery responded. "You don't have to think too long. If you kill 44 million of your potential workers, it's not too surprising we would be desperate for workers."

Pew Hispanic Center estimates the United States had 11.1 million illegal immigrants in March 2005, and using Census Bureau data surmises that 850,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in United States each year since 2000. Illegals are estimated to hold a quarter of all agricultural jobs, 17 percent of office and house cleaning positions, 14 percent of construction jobs and 12 percent in food preparation.

The immigration report estimates Missouri has 80,000 fewer Missourians because of abortion, a "highly productive age group for workers." According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, nearly 22,000 illegal immigrants reside in Missouri, many of whom come from poorer South American countries, especially Mexico.

“It’s two sentences out of a 50-page report that basically acknowledges demographically, economically, statistically, if you have in this case 250,000 fewer people in Missouri than you’d otherwise have, then some of the comments about that there aren’t enough workers makes some sense,” said Emery, reports the Columbia Daily Tribune. “We heard commentary from witnesses that there were not sufficient workers, that’s why they had to access to [sic]these foreign workers. We heard other testimony that said the native workers did not have the character they needed, and so they had to go [employ] these other workers, these independent workers."

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