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As part of our Virtual Lobby Day, we want to bring you as much flavor of the General Assembly as we can to those who can’t make it to Richmond as often as they’d like. In fact, we continue to post videos of committee hearings on bills we support on our YouTube Channel as well as here, making this blog perhaps the best place for information about what your state government is doing. Tomorrow, and throughout session, we’ll have more about what we’re doing through the Internet and how you can help influence lawmakers.

On January 18, Delegate Kathy Byron (R-22, Lynchburg), a former Family Foundation Legislator of the Year, spoke to pro-family activists at our Family Foundation Day at the Capitol. She focused on two pro-life bills she is carrying this session: HB 1033 (defining a baby as separate from the mother’s body) and HB 1042 (requiring an ultrasound before an abortion). Both bills are still alive. Click on them to get more information and learn where you need to direct your e-mails.

Delegate Kathy Byron speaks on behalf of the unborn — and the born in patroning the “baby bill” this session.

Annotations & Elucidations

Like Deeds, Like Marsden; Like Kaine, Like Marsden; Like Deeds, Like Kaine

We’re keeping the news to a minimum today: the snow is melting and people are less captive and not as inclined to be in front of the computer as they get back to last minute shopping and other Christmas preparations. Most of the news around the state concerns Governor Tim Kaine’s outlandish income tax increase proposal. Easy for him to do — he leaves office in three weeks. Governor-elect Bob McDonnell and the majority House Republicans already say it’s a non-starter. So perhaps the big story, or at least the most intriguing, is the turn taken in the special election in the 37th Senate district (in Fairfax County) to replace Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli, between Republican Steve Hunt and Democrat Dave Marsden, currently a delegate. Democrats think, because of recent trends in Fairfax, they can win the seat; the GOP, with its reverberating rebound last month, sense the tide has turned back their way, even in Northern Virginia, where its candidates did exceedingly well in the recent election.

Delegate Marsden, who moved into a friend’s house to establish residency in the district, now has pro-abortion allies railing against some old literature a crisis pregnancy center stopped distributing some time ago. Hunt used to serve on the center’s board.

Two things are absolutely peculiar about this: First, Delegate Marsden, must not have paid much attention to the top of his own ticket last month as Democrat standard bearer Creigh Deeds (remember him?) clamored about abortion and social issues while the rest of Virginia concerned itself with jobs. Marsden, himself, considered to be in a safe House district, barely escaped to re-election. Now, Governor Kaine wants to repeal the car tax cut and raise the income tax, and Delegate Marsden, given his record, is most likely right there with him. Again, just like Senator Deeds, who recommended raising taxes during a recession (see Jeff Schaprio’s analysis in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, below).

The second oddity is that while the pregnancy center has ceased distributing the information, those attacking it and Mr. Hunt are providing this type of sick information (see video of Planned Parenthood abortionist and counselor talking to prospective patient),where “patients” are advised that abortions are safer than giving birth. So, it’s mini-campaign redux featuring residency, raising taxes in a recession and old flyers versus jobs and sticking up for the unborn.  

News:

Antiabortion pregnancy center figures in state Senate race (Washington Post)

McDonnell, GOP lawmakers assail Kaine’s budget plan (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Kaine proposes 1% rise in state income tax (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

From deep in the red, Gov. Kaine proposes a brutal state budget (The Daily Press)

‘Painful cuts’ part of Kaine’s Virginia budget proposal (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)

Kaine proposes replacing car tax with income one (Washington Times)

Virginia governor proposes an income tax increase (Washington Post)

At least 7 GOP candidates eager to take on Perriello (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Analysis:

With budget, Kaine leaves tough task for both parties (Jeff Schapiro/Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Alveda King is the niece of the late civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As he saw justice to a people immorally denied, she sees, first hand, the destructiveness to that same community — and all people — of the justice denied to the unborn. She has committed herself to a life and ministry of bringing civil rights to the unborn. She recently recorded a message for our sister organization, TFF Action. Please take a listen to it and forward this link to as many people as you can.

A Message About Protecting The Unborn From Alveda King, Niece Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The following comes from a President of the United Nations:

“I am going home America — farewell.

“For seventeen years I have enjoyed your hospitality, visited every one of your 50 states. I can say I know you well.

“I admire and love America. It is my second home.

“What I have to say now in parting is both a tribute and a warning: Never forget, Americans, that yours is a spiritual country.

“Yes, I know that you are a practical people. Like others, I have marveled at your factories, your skyscrapers and your arsenals.

“But underlying everything else is the fact that America began as a God-loving, God-fearing, God-worshipping people, knowing that there is a spark of the Divine in each one of us. It is the respect for dignity of the human spirit which makes America invincible. May it always endure.

“And so I say again inparting, thank you, America, and farewell. May God keep you always — and may you always keep God.”

Shocking, isn’t it, that someone associated with the United Nations could ever make such a proclamation?

Oh, I forgot to tell you, these are the words of the former president of the U.N., former Philippino delegate to the U.N. and former Ambassador to the U.S., Carlos Romulo. The words above were spoken in 1962 — just as the United States was discovering the so-called separation of church and state; just as the Supreme Court was ordering God out of schools; just as the cultural revolution of the ’60s was about to explode. 

Good thing we know better now. Good thing we didn’t listen to Mr. Romulo and “always keep God.” I mean, look how much better off our nation is today. Lots more abortion, lots more divorce, lots more out-of-wedlock births, lots more crime, lots more greed, lots more poverty, lots more of all those things that make America “progressive”! Good thing we don’t see the divine spark in each one of us — or at least not in the unborn. 

God bless America Amerika.

A new study published in the July/August edition of the journal Child Development says that unborn children have short-term memory capabilities at 30 weeks gestation. Researchers also found that 34-week-old unborn children are “able to store information and retrieve it four weeks later.” 

Science advances the pro-life cause yet again. 

Once again, science is proving what pro-life Americans have always known — that unborn children “are members of the human family.” According to the Washington Times, NARAL Pro-Choice American did not respond to requests for comment. Of course, as with the science that shows that unborn children feel pain, they will dismiss the science as irrelevant or misleading. 

But reasonable, thinking Americans everywhere are catching on. Science is advancing the pro-life cause faster than any politican could dream. The question is, will the politicans ever catch up with the science?

The next several posts will be statements from the major players who had significant roles in crafting the legislation that became Virginia’s law banning partial birth abortion/infanticide; in defending its constitutionality in the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals; and other organizations that play a leading role in defending unborn, innocent life in Virginia public policy.

Thanks to our friends at The Virginia Catholic Conference — who do fantastic work keeping up with federal issues, especially regulatory matters that don’t require Congressional action and therefore aren’t in a big a media spotlight — we have an urgent reminder that the Obama Administration is losing no time in trying to force medical workers of faith into providing services they find objectionable.

On February 27, it announced its intention to remove current regulations, put in place by the Bush Administration late last year, that protect conscience rights in health care. On March 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a formal proposal to rescind these regulations, thereby activating a 30-day period for the public to submit comments. 

The National Committee for a Human Life Amendment has devised an Action Alert explaining why the regulations should be retained and providing directions on how to submit comments to HHS (click here). E-mail messages can be sent directly through the NCHLA Action Center. A preset message is provided, to which the sender can add personal comments. 

Please submit your comments before the April 9 deadline! 

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has set up a special Web site with that provides a wealth of information and resources on conscience protection (click here), including a link to the NCHLA Action Center message. We encourage you to visit that site and others to fully arm yourself on the issue.  

Churches are encouraged to display the NCHLA and USCCB links on their Web pages. Highlighting the critical importance of the current conscience regulations, Cardinal Francis George, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said:

They are “one part of the range of legal protections for health care workers — for doctors, nurses and others — who have objections in conscience to being involved in abortion and other killing procedures that are against how they live their faith in God.” 

Removing these conscience regulations “would be the first step in moving our country from democracy to despotism.”

The Obama HHS promises to be as destructive as ever toward the unborn. Its secretary-designate, Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic, was the most pro-abortion-on- demand governor in the country before her nomination. He extremist policy positions prompted Archbishop Raymond L. Burk to call her an “embarrassment” (Catholic News Agency). It will take every possible effort to counter the new adminstration’s pro-abortion initiatives. Pro-life Virginia activists responded in numbers to impress upon the Bush Administration how important these medical professional conscience protections are (see previous commentary). A redoubled effort is required to convince the Obama Administration to retain them.