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WASHINGTON, D.C., May 12, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — During a Capitol Hill meeting today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra portrayed himself as ignorant of U.S. law banning partial-birth abortion.
When Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Florida, asked Becerra during a House Energy and Commerce Committee, Health Subcommittee hearing, “Do you agree that partial-birth abortion is illegal?” Becerra claimed, “There is no medical term ‘partial-birth abortion.’”
Bilirakis pressed him again and Becerra doubled down: “There is no law that deals specifically with the term ‘partial birth abortion.’”
“Stop lying,” demanded the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List (SBA) in a tweet directed at Becerra.
“The law passed & Supreme Court upheld it,” continued SBA. “This law bans killing a child when it is already partially born. You voted AGAINST this law. Shame on you.”
In subsequent tweets, SBA called out the new Democratic HHS head for his guileful answer:
The head of the U.S. Bishops' Pro-Life office, Archbishop Joseph Naumann, is under attack for consistently calling out Joe Biden for the serious sin of publicly promoting abortion.
A petition has been launched against Archbishop Naumann because he continues to preach the truth that "Catholic" politicians who promote abortion are endangering their souls and causing grave scandal to the faithful.
We must now come to Archbishop Naumann's defense.
Please SIGN and SHARE WIDELY this petition which urges the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops not to demote or remove Archbishop Naumann from head of the Pro-Life Committee, but rather, to follow his lead in urging Joe Biden to repent of the terrible sin of promoting the murder the unborn human beings.
Archbishop Naumann has come under fire, from people who plainly know or care little about Catholic moral teaching, for stating the obvious in a recent interview with LifeSiteNews:
It is the responsibility of the Bishops of the United States to defend the most fundamental of all human rights, the right to life, and to protect the integrity of Catholic moral teaching. We cannot abdicate either of these responsibilities, even as we are eager to work with everyone to promote the common good...
We must continue to speak to President Biden, as well as all Catholics, and even all Americans, about the truth of what abortion is. Abortion is not something to be celebrated, and it is not healthcare. It is the intentional killing of a child. To participate in abortion or to promote abortion is a grave evil.
And, in an even more pointed statement made in an interview with Catholic World Report, Archbishop Naumann defended the Holy Eucharist against Biden's attack on human life, suggesting that Biden should not present himself for Holy Communion:
When Catholics receive the Eucharist, they are acknowledging the Real Presence of Jesus, and also belief in the teachings of the Church. President Biden doesn’t believe in the Church’s teachings on the Sanctity of Human Life, and he should not put the priest in the situation where he has to decide whether or not to allow him to receive the Eucharist. He should know that after 78 years as a Catholic.
But, again, by calling out Joe Biden for his public promotion of abortion, Archbishop Naumann is not doing anything out-of-the-ordinary.
He is only saying what the bishops should have all been saying, with a unified voice, since Biden won the nomination during the election campaign.
Indeed, in an open letter published on inauguration day, Archbishop José Gomez, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), warned that Biden’s pledge to pursue anti-life and anti-family policies would advance “moral evils” in the areas of “abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender."
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops not to demote or replace Archbishop Naumann as head of the Pro-Life Committee, but rather, to follow his lead in urging Joe Biden to repent of the horrific sin of promoting the murder of the preborn.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'EXCLUSIVE: Bishop Naumann – US bishops must address scandal of ‘Catholic’ Biden championing abortion' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-bishop-naumann-us-bishops-must-address-scandal-of-catholic-biden-championing-abortion
'Bishops need to ‘correct’ pro-abortion Biden for ‘acting contrary’ to Catholic faith: Abp. Naumann' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishops-need-to-correct-pro-abortion-biden-for-acting-contrary-to-catholic-faith-abp-naumann
Becerra claimed, “There is no law that deals specifically with the term Partial-Birth Abortion.”
But that’s exactly what U.S. Code § 1531 does:
Read the law: https://law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1531
Becerra claimed: “There is no law that deals specifically with the term Partial-Birth Abortion.”
But that’s exactly what U.S. Code § 1531 does:
Read the law: https://t.co/SnIMotOrQl pic.twitter.com/WzEGPApbI0
— Susan B. Anthony List (@SBAList) May 12, 2021
Becerra is very much aware of the Partial-Birth Abortion ban. When Planned Parenthood was caught red-handed admitting they used the partial-birth abortion method, instead of prosecuting Planned Parenthood, then-California AG Becerra prosecuted the undercover journalists Center for Medical Progress.
Becerra is very much aware of the Partial-Birth Abortion ban. When PP was caught red-handed admitting they used the partial-birth abortion method, instead of prosecuting PP, then-California AG Becerra prosecuted the undercover journalists @CtrMedProgress https://t.co/WSjssr4RxP
— Susan B. Anthony List (@SBAList) May 12, 2021
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, slammed Becerra’s mendacity.
“Sec. Becerra told me under oath that he would follow the law on partial birth abortion,” said Daines. “Now, he’s denying the law banning these barbaric partial birth abortions even exists. This is shameful.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, took up where Bilirakis left off, asking Becerra, “It’s a very clear statute, Mr. Secretary, please don’t waver on this. The Supreme Court has already spoken on this particular statute. Do you recognize it, yes or no question?”
Becerra again avoided acknowledging the term “partial-birth abortion.”
.@RepDanCrenshaw asks @SecBecerra a simple yes or no question: Do you recognize the statute that outlaws partial-birth abortions?
Yet again, Becerra refuses to recognize the law, instead saying he would protect a “woman’s right to choose”
Read the law: https://t.co/SnIMotOrQl pic.twitter.com/e9ZfLZF0DA
— Susan B. Anthony List (@SBAList) May 12, 2021
“During his confirmation hearings, Xavier Becerra dodged questions about his stance on partial-birth abortion – when an unborn child is partially delivered and then killed – deflecting with repeated claims that he would ‘follow the law’ as head of HHS. Now the top health official in America, Becerra outright denies the existence of a law banning partial-birth abortion since 2003,” commented SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Becerra can hardly plead ignorance on this topic. As a freshman congressman, he voted against the ban. This shameless lie is standard for the most radical pro-abortion administration in history. It should not be hard to recognize that partially delivering a baby and then suctioning his or her brain is not only illegal, but utterly inhumane.
“As Becerra works hand-in-glove with the White House to expand abortion on demand and force taxpayers to bankroll the abortion industry against their will, pro-life leaders in Congress are fighting back,” continued Dannenfelser. “210 legislators are demanding a vote on legislation to protect babies born alive during failed abortions from being killed or left to die. If just five Democrats sign the petition, it will force a vote Speaker Pelosi seems desperate to avoid. Sadly, not a single Democrat has yet signed the petition and opposed infanticide.”
“Becerra’s responses further reveal the extremism of Biden-Harris Democrats and SBA List will work tirelessly to expose them and ensure political consequences,” she added.
The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 defines partial-birth abortion as “an abortion in which a physician deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living, unborn child's body until either the entire baby's head is outside the body of the mother, or any part of the baby's trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother and only the head remains inside the womb, for the purpose of performing an overt act (usually the puncturing of the back of the child's skull and removing the baby's brains) that the person knows will kill the partially delivered infant, performs this act, and then completes delivery of the dead infant — is a gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary and should be prohibited.”