GUEST POST: The Students for Life Action (SFLAction) team and members of the Pro-Life Generation headed to Capitol Hill recently to urge key congressional offices to keep abortion funding out of our federal programs and affairs. For the national lobby day, we targeted offices of Members who we knew had voted against pro-life amendments to spending bills in the past, such as the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 (NDAA), and the REINS Act.
When we met with these offices, every single one had a poor excuse: either they couldn’t remember why they voted against the pro-life amendments or said they “had to” because their district supports abortion. Many staffers proceeded to add, “But the member is pro-life.” It was disappointing feedback from the weaker Republicans, who we have identified in previous blogs on this website.
Thankfully, not everyone has a problem with moral courage. We also had the pleasure of presenting Senator Tuberville (R-AL) with a SFLAction Pro-Life Champion Award to show our gratitude for all his efforts in blocking abortion funding in Veterans Affairs. Sen. Tuberville was very pleased to see us and appreciative of the award.
I told him, “Thank you for staying strong in protecting life and upholding the law despite the backlash from the media and even some of your colleagues.”
He responded, “Oh, I will not allow them to tear me down…I have been called many names, and I have never allowed it to bother me. We have to protect the unborn.”
More politicians need his dedication to life.
Our fantastic students from across the Washington D.C. area did so well at communicating the urgency needed for Congress members to protect life by keeping abortion spending out of the budgets, specifically regarding the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Restore Safeguards on Mifepristone in Agriculture Appropriations, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Now that they’ve tasted lobbying, many cannot wait to go again.
SFLAction hopes the congressional offices we visited will heed our requests and put their pro-life beliefs into action. Politics should never be placed over principles.