WASHINGTON, D.C., December 18, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to approve two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, in a move pro-life leaders say is less about presidential conduct and more about the Democrat House majority’s opposition to pro-life reforms.
The impeachment push was sparked in September by Trump’s requests that the Ukrainian government help investigate foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden’s role in the ouster of a prosecutor who had been investigating his son Hunter’s business dealings in the country.
Trump’s defenders argue it’s legitimate for world leaders to request assistance in rooting out a previous administration’s potential corruption. His opponents claim it was at the very least inappropriate given Trump and Biden’s political rivalry, and a serious abuse of power if Trump made congressionally-authorized foreign aid a condition of compliance.
Specifically, the articles of impeachment accuse the president of “abuse of power” in his requests to Ukraine, and “obstruction of Congress” for the administration’s non-compliance with House subpoenas.
Several pro-life leaders spoke out about the push to impeach Trump and subsequent vote to do so, rejecting it as a partisan pretext to undermine Trump’s conservative policies, especially his support for the preborn.
“Democratic Party leaders’ extremism knows no bounds. Their crusade to negate the results of the 2016 election and impeach President Trump, just like their abortion radicalism, reveals just how out of step they are with the American people. Tonight’s vote will be a huge political liability for House members going into 2020,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List.
“As the process moves to the Senate, we are confident that Leader McConnell and Chairman Graham will treat the President with fairness and respect that was not afforded him in the House,” Dannenfelser continued. “President Trump is the most effective pro-life president in the history of our nation. From stopping taxpayer funding of abortion, to protecting conscience rights, to the confirmation of over 150 outstanding federal judges, he has beyond delivered on his promises to the voters who elected him. SBA List is proud to stand with President Trump and our field team will be working through Election Day to secure his re-election.”
Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America, praised Trump for having “delivered on life, religious liberty, support for families, prison reform, support for Israel, and, our favorite, the appointment of constitutional judges, among so many other accomplishments.”
“Meanwhile, the impeachment machine opposing him has been reduced to a sad display of the most venomous and disingenuous political theater, as we saw in the House vote today,” she continued. “This maliciously partisan impeachment process is the perfect example of everything that is wrong in our politics. It has been a travesty of justice, and it will forever be a stain on the record of the members who turned a blind eye to truth for political gain.”
“This partisan attempt by pro-abortion Democrats to overturn the 2016 election will fail,” National Right to Life Committee President Carol Tobias told LifeSiteNews. “National Right to Life has already endorsed pro-life President Trump for re-election and expects him to be re-elected in 2020.”
To all taking part in the pro- #impeachment rallies today:
What the hell is wrong with you?
Do you want more #unborn babies killed, a worse economy, no security, no values, no expressions of #faith in public, no religious liberty, no #America?
Go home & study civics!#USA
— Fr. Frank Pavone ���� (@frfrankpavone) December 17, 2019
As we in the #prolife mvmt have been saying for decades, #abortion destroys everything it touches.#Dems #impeachment sham to try to discourage voters from re-electing @realDonaldTrump is in no small part their reaction to his heroic push against the abortion industry.#MAGA
— Fr. Frank Pavone ���� (@frfrankpavone) December 18, 2019
You can't practice vice virtuously.
That's why the #DemocratyParty, which has no problem w unlimited #abortion, also has no problem with trashing due process & abusing an #impeachment process.
If a politician can't respect the life of a little baby, how can (s)he respect yours?
— Fr. Frank Pavone ���� (@frfrankpavone) December 18, 2019
“They hate President Trump not because of a phone call with the Ukrainian president,” Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins told LifeSiteNews. “They hate him because he is reshaping the American judiciary with pro-life, conservative judges. They hate him because he is doing everything he promised in his campaign, to be the most anti-abortion president we've ever had.”
The House vote was largely a foregone conclusion given the chamber’s Democrat majority, as is the expectation that the Republican-controlled Senate will vote against removing Trump from office. To the extent the impeachment push has had any effect, it appears to have backfired on the president’s opponents; Gallup reports that Trump’s 45% approval rating is six points higher than it was when the House began impeachment proceedings.