STAFFORD, Va. – The California legislature is considering a measure that marks a concession to the population control movement by encouraging only “wanted” pregnancies.
The U.S. Pro-life group American Life League finds the concept “extremely disturbing,” said president Judie Brown. She is calling on lawmakers yo reject the proposal.
A California assembly committee was scheduled to hold hearings on SB 522 in late August. According to California Right to Life, the bill stresses the importance of “planned pregnancies” as an ideal social norm.
“It is not the job of state legislatures to establish subjective criteria describing which children should survive in the womb and which should not,” said Mrs. Brown. “Such practices are pure eugenics – the practice advocated by Planned Parenthood foundress Margaret Sanger, who believed that only those who were ‘fit’ to bear children should actually have them.”
Backers say that the measure seeks to reduce unintended pregnancies that lead to abortion, depression, handicapped children and limited lifestyles. In reality, California Right to Life believes the bill is designed to boost funding for Planned Parenthood. It could also require state-funded agencies to subscribe to the belief that “every child should be a wanted child.”
Mrs. Brown said the bill “subtly assigns value to pre-born children based on some abstract notion of whether or not the child is “wanted.” Whether the pregnancy is intended or not, every human life has dignity and worth from the moment of conception.
“All pre-born children have equal value,” she said, “but SB 522 denies that fact. This proposal further undermines respect for life in America. Any measure that could encourage women to have abortions should be soundly defeated.”
– American Life League via Pro Life E-News Canada
