New Senate majority leader John Thune an ‘unwavering defender of life’

CNA Staff, Nov 15, 2024 / 11:20 am

Here is a roundup of recent abortion- and pro-life-related news.

Thune ‘an unwavering defender of life’

A pro-life advocacy group is lauding the GOP’s recent election of Sen. John Thune of South Dakota as Republican majority leader to replace Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Thune holds an “A+” rating from pro-life advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. He won the Senate leadership by four votes against Texas Sen. John Cornyn.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser called the senator “an unwavering defender of life” in a statement Wednesday.

Dannenfelser cited Thune’s introduction of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, designed to ensure quality medical care for any babies who are born alive during botched abortions.

Thune, a pro-life evangelical Christian, spoke about his faith and prayer life in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” earlier this year.

U.N. cautions against discriminatory abortions

A United Nations human rights committee recently highlighted concerns about abortion targeting unborn babies with Down syndrome in some Western countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) warned against discrimination toward persons with Down syndrome, noting that women are likely to abort unborn babies after receiving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

The committee’s 2024 report on Belgium noted that “societal perceptions that persons with Down syndrome and other impairments are less valuable than other persons contribute to the high level of selective termination of pregnancies following prenatal diagnoses of Down syndrome or other impairments.”

The report recommended that Belgium “adopt measures to train and sensitize health personnel on the rights of persons with disabilities and on how to provide unbiased guidance and support to prospective parents following prenatal diagnoses of Down syndrome or other impairments in order to allow them to take fully informed decisions on the pregnancy.”

The 2024 report for the Netherlands similarly cited “reports of pressure exerted by health personnel on prospective parents to terminate pregnancies following a diagnosis of Down syndrome or other impairment” as “reinforcing societal perceptions that persons with Down syndrome and other impairments are less valuable.”

The Netherlands report also noted an “increase in selective terminations of pregnancies.”

Wisconsin attorney argues to reinstate abortion law

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments over an 1849 law that prohibited abortion there for more than a century before Roe v. Wade nullified it in 1973.

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul challenged the law after Roe was overturned in 2022. He argued that a 1985 Wisconsin law allowing abortions overruled the 1849 law.

A Dane County Circuit Court judge ruled last year that the 1849 law did not outlaw abortion. Joel Urmanski, the district attorney of Sheboygan County in Wisconsin, asked the high court to overturn that ruling.

Heather Weininger, the executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life, criticized the court in a statement, alleging that “the majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court was there to legislate from the bench.” The Wisconsin Supreme Court has had a liberal majority since 2023.