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By Cheryl Sullenger
Washington, DC – Today, I joined a group of about 30 pro-life leaders from all across the outside House Speaker John Boehner’s office. We attempted to communicate with Speaker Boehner’s staff our concerns about the delay of a promised vote on the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
Led by Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, each leader gave a brief statement to the media then went inside the Longworth House Office Building and peacefully prayed. Some displayed life-like models of babies at 20 weeks gestation, which the law would protect from a brutal abortion death, if enacted. Others displayed 8×10” images of late-term abortion victims.
We believe Boehner’s staff was there but no one would come to the door even though they knew we were coming. We each knocked on the door, to no avail.
At the suggestion of Monica Miller of Citizens for a Pro-life Society, a few of us went back to Speaker Boehner’s office around 2:45, but again, no one would answer the door.
I felt like we were being told that we didn’t matter and neither did the babies that this bill would save. It was disrespectful to not at least send someone out so we could feel like we our concerns were heard. Instead, Boehner’s staff turned a blind eye and a deaf ear, not just to us, but also to plight of babies and their moms. It was disappointing, to say the least.
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Other leaders present included Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League, Brian Gibson of Pro-Life Action Ministries, Walter and Lori Hoye of Issue 4 Life Foundation, Jeff While, Cheryl Conrad, and Jason Conrad of Survivors, Sarah Howell of CEC for Life, Bud Shaver and Pastor Manny Larzidabal, of Protest ABQ, and others.
On January 21, a promised debate and vote on the Pain Capable Unborn Chile Protection Act was cancelled when some Republican Congresswomen objected to a provision that would have required rape victims to report their attacks to police.
Four months later, language still cannot be agreed upon and there is no vote on the horizon.
There needs to be a greater sense of urgency in Congress regarding this important legislation. While Congress drags its feet, viable babies are dying by the most barbaric means imaginable. We cannot be silent while there is a viable means of saving thousands of children each year. Each day this vote is delayed is another day when innocent babies are being savagely dismembered or delivered dead into toilets. We simply cannot claimed to be an enlightened society while tolerating even one day of this barbarity.
I want to thank everyone who prayed for us today and who support this incredibly important cause.
Photos available on Facebook at ProtestABQ’s page.
Video is here: https://youtu.be/s6umiUR7LQM
(Sorry in advance for the side-ways video. I’m clumsily doing this from my iPad.)