More than 'baby steps' needed to end abortion

The recent passing of the “Fetal Heartbeat” bill in Idaho is a sad example of the political theater we are forced to watch from all levels of government. Those who claim to be “pro-life” (even conservatives involved in politics) heralded the bill as “an end to abortion in Idaho.” They could not be more wrong nor further from the truth.

The “Fetal Heartbeat” bill is what is known as a “Trigger” bill in that there must be action from another source before the bill would take effect in Idaho. More importantly, it still allows the willful murder of children in the womb if they were created as the result of a rape or incest.

An analogy I like to use is this: Imagine your child is a customer at a local convenience store. A criminal comes in, steals money, kills the clerk and runs away. Law enforcement shows up and shoots your child to death.

Wait! Why did they do that? My child was an innocent bystander and had nothing to do with the crime that was committed! If the baby that was created by rape or incest could talk, don’t you think that child would say the same thing before he or she was aborted?

A question one could ask their legislator is “Are you truly pro-life or is that claim just political expediency? If you believe that life begins at conception and not when the baby’s heartbeat can be detected then isn’t that baby a human being? Doesn’t that baby have a right to the same protections of life and liberty that we do?”

Dear legislator, are you afraid to vote against phony pro-life bills that still allow for the murder of unborn babies because you want to be re-elected and don’t want to be “accused” of being “in favor of abortion?” Are you more concerned with staying in office rather than voting to end abortion and save babies?

If that baby could talk to you, how would you justify your vote? “Ah,” but you might say, “We have to take baby steps in order to end abortion outright.” What an ironic statement! “Baby steps?”

When will we see an end to the dog and pony show of incrementalism with regard to the true abolition of abortion? Did you know that a true “abortion abolition” bill (H 056) once again languished in a committee chairperson’s drawer so it saw no action in the Idaho Legislature, again? Once again, many pro-life citizens in Idaho have been bamboozled into thinking that abortion has been outlawed in Idaho. Wrong! Women can still have their babies murdered in “clinics” in the Boise area.

If you are truly a “pro-life” voter and believe that ALL babies deserve to live then you need to hold your legislators accountable for their failures to stop all abortions in your state!

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Don Bradway is a Kootenai County resident.