There’s a reason the founders of the Babylon Bee started the “Not the Bee” offshoot. Some of the Bee’s titles, though satirical, started becoming realistic — not because the Bee was losing their comedic touch, but because news is becoming that ridiculous.
So, to borrow a phrase, this story is real — not the Bee.
Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden, an actual group, says they feel “hurt and betrayed” after Democrats refused to prevent COVID-19 relief funds from paying for abortions. The group — we’ll call them PLEB — said that Biden’s staff reached out to them during the campaign to gain their support, which PLEB granted under the condition that the Biden administration seeks common ground solutions with PLEB regarding abortion. According to PLEB, no such dialogue has yet to manifest, and the administration is going in the opposite direction of common ground.
“We are very disappointed about the COVID-19 relief package’s exclusion of the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding bipartisan policy that prevents taxpayer funding for abortion. We’re even more upset that the Biden administration is supporting this bill. As pro-life leaders in the evangelical community, we publicly supported President Biden’s candidacy with the understanding that there would be engagement us (sic) on the issue of abortion and particularly the Hyde Amendment. The Biden team wanted to talk to us during the campaign to gain our support, and we gave it on the condition there would be active dialogue and common ground solutions on the issue of abortion. There has been no dialogue since the campaign. We feel used and betrayed and have no intention of simply watching these kinds of efforts happen from the sidelines.”
To be as charitable as possible, PLEB deserves props for calling out Democrats for going back on their word and excluding the longstanding prohibition of taxpayer-funded elective abortions in the COVID-19 relief bill.
That said, can PLEB really be surprised?
Democrats have been going further left on abortion at a rapid rate — why would anyone think they’d be willing to compromise? PLEB was clearly upset about the exclusion of the Hyde Amendment in last week’s COVID-19 relief package, emphasizing their frustration with Biden’s support for it. But in 2019, before the general and primary elections, Biden denounced his longtime support for the Hyde Amendment.
Side note, if PLEB is so enthusiastic about their position on abortion (pro-life) and their faith (evangelicals) that they would include it in their title, why do they support someone who is aggressively pro-abortion and wants to limit their religious liberty? It’s like having a group called “Pro-Emancipation Advocates for Slave Owners!” This isn’t just inconsistent, it’s literally a paradox.
Republicans fought hard to keep Hyde protections as part of the bill, with the soft-spoken Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., issuing an unapologetic rebuke towards Democrats.
“Congress has passed five bipartisan bills in the past twelve months related to the COVID-19 pandemic that target relief to those who need it most…. All five bills had the normal language that prevents the use of taxpayers’ dollars to pay for abortions. But now Democrats have determined that this partisan COVID bill should direct American tax dollars to abortions.”
Lankford’s passion is reflected in a retweet of Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who stated:
“Funding during a pandemic should save lives, not take lives. Abortion funding should not be in a COVID-19 pandemic bill. This shouldn’t be controversial.”
Funding during a pandemic should save lives, not take lives. Abortion funding should not be in a COVID-19 pandemic bill. This shouldn’t be controversial. https://t.co/WypXS10sC1
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) March 6, 2021
Groups who identify as pro-life but openly support pro-abortion candidates are at best virtue signalers, but more realistically, they’re naive and dishonest. Their enthusiasm cannot seriously be legitimate if they speak of support but act (vote) in direct opposition. I would challenge PLEB and their pantomimes to ask why they are pro-life. The only reason people are pro-life is that they believe the unborn to be humans and they detest the snuffing of innocent life. That said, what could possibly be such a priority over the saving of the most vulnerable among us that would cause a “pro-life” conscience to vote pro-abortion?
I’ll conclude with that.
