If Joe Biden is allowed to steal the election and is sworn in as president, his announcement
that he would nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services signals a declaration of war on the right-to-life.
Our friend Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, was quick to issue a statement opposing Becerra’s potential nomination:
“Far from ‘uniting’ the country, Biden has proven yet again he is an extremist on abortion. Becerra is aggressively pro-abortion and a foe of free speech. As attorney general of California, he continued what his predecessor Kamala Harris started by persecuting citizen journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood’s role in baby parts trafficking. Not only that, he went all the way to the Supreme Court to try to force California’s pro-life pregnancy centers to advertise and refer for abortion – a policy the Court rejected as unconstitutional. In Congress, he even voted in favor of partial-birth abortion.”
“This pick underscores the importance of winning in Georgia to prevent pro-abortion forces from taking control of the U.S. Senate. Republican senators must stand firm and stop this unacceptable nomination from going forward.”
Becerra served in Congress for 24 years, where he voted against a ban on partial-birth abortion, voted against making it a crime to hurt an unborn child during another crime, and voted for taxpayer-funded abortions.
As Madeline Osburn pointed out in an article for The Federalist, Becerra’s nomination to HHS chief also means he would be able to continue his war on nuns. Despite winning at the Supreme Court in 2016 over a provision in the Affordable Care Act that would force the Catholic organization to offer contraception in health-care plans to celibate nuns, and that the mandate ignores that some forms of contraception act as abortifacients, the Little Sisters of the Poor are still in court thanks to Becerra and the state of California. They are suing in federal court to remove the nuns’ religious exemption.
Despite Biden’s Catholic faith and “moderate” facade, observed Ms. Osburn, Becerra’s nomination proves the culture war will escalate under a Biden administration, particularly on issues like abortion and religious liberty.
Becerra, who has no experience in health care, is known for his hostility towards pro-life activists said our friends at Live Action.
In a tweet Lila Grace Rose of Live Action reminded us:
Becerra is currently using his power as CA Attorney General to prosecute two of my friends
Their “crime”? Filming
@PPFA
execs in a restaurant who said they would sell the little bodies of the babies they kill
He didn’t prosecute the killers. He went after the pro-life reporters
Becerra was also the defendant in the case NIFLA v. Becerra, in which the state of California attempted to force pro-life pregnancy centers to promote abortion through government-mandated messaging in posted signage inside facilities and in any advertising. California’s Reproductive FACT Act was extreme in its singling out of pregnancy centers, and the Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of the pro-life plaintiffs. Kristi Burton Brown wrote for Live Action News in 2018 that the FACT Act:
… is indeed so strenuous and bold-faced that it would, in some cases, require nonprofit pregnancy resource centers to include a 29-word, state-mandated statement on a billboard that would otherwise simply say, “Choose Life.” And not only would the 29 government words be required, but they would also be required in the same font as the nonprofit’s chosen, paid-for message. Additionally, in some California counties, the 29 words would have to appear in 13 different languages.
Kristen Waggoner, General Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom noted in a tweet:
ADF had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to stop Becerra from forcing religious pro-life pregnancy centers to advertise for abortions. He is an extremist who has no regard for conscience or protecting life. There’s nothing moderate about this pick. Nothing.
Conservative Senators are already stepping up to oppose Becerra should Biden’s theft of the election stand, with Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas tweeting:
Xavier Becerra spent his career attacking pro-life Americans and tried to force crisis pregnancy centers to advertise abortions.
He’s been a disaster in California and he is unqualified to lead HHS.
I’ll be voting no, and Becerra should be rejected by the Senate.
We urge CHQ readers and friends to call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard (1-866-220-0044) to tell your Senators to vote NO if Xavier Becerra is nominated to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.
2020 Election
Abortion
Right to Life
Joe Biden
Kamala Harris
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Marjorie Dannenfelser
Planned Parenthood