New House Majority Leader Strong Believer in Sanctity of Life
by Jody Brown and Chad Groening
February 3, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The GOP has a new majority leader in the U.S. House -- and his unabashedly pro-life leanings have at least one pro-family leader singing his praises.A little more than one year into his eighth term in the House, Ohio Congressman John Boehner now finds himself in one of the primary leadership roles of his party. On Thursday (February 2), he was chosen by his fellow Republicans in the House as majority leader, beating out Missouri Representative Roy Blunt by a vote of 122-109. Following his victory, the Ohioan stated that Republicans in the House will "rededicate ourselves to dealing with big issues that the American people expect us to deal with."
Among conservative and Christians, the issue of the sanctity of life is no doubt among those issues. And according to a mid-January letter to his colleagues in the House, life and the protection thereof are paramount to John Boehner as well. In that correspondence, the congressmen -- a lifelong Roman Catholic and one of 12 children -- states he believes, and has always believed, that life begins at conception.
"This is not a political position I've adopted for the sake of expedience or convenience; it is part of who I am and have always been, since long before the thought of running for office had ever entered my mind," he says. "It is a belief I feel passionately from deep within my soul."
According to the National Right to Life Committee and Family Research Council, Boehner has a 100 percent voting record on pro-life issues. Not surprisingly, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund gives the congressman a score of zero, noting his "anti-choice" responses on issues such as abortion access for minors, members of the military, and low-income women; insurance coverage for contraceptives; and funding for "international family planning."
In his letter, Boehner reassures GOP members of the House that as he has in the past, he will vote to protect the rights of unborn children. "My voting record is consistent with what I believe," he says. "If I am elected as your majority leader, my voting record will not change."
Boehner acknowledges that he has on occasion voted for what he calls "imperfect products" because he sees them as an "improvement over the status quo." But when considering legislation that "condones the destruction of innocent human life," the lawmaker says he "refuse[s] to compromise."
"I have always voted to protect the rights of unborn children," he says, "and as long as I am an elected official, I will continue to do so."
Pro-Family Praise
It is that unequivocal pro-life stance that Phil Burress finds attractive in his congressional representative. Burress, who heads up Citizens for Community Values (CCV) in Boehner's hometown of Cincinnati, attests to the congressman's solid record as a pro-family and pro-life advocate.
"I talked with John just last week about this and asked him some questions about our values -- and he is solid," says Burress. "In fact on Family Research Council's scorecard he has scored a hundred for the past several years, being right on the issues."
Boehner, he adds, is "solid -- so the pro-family groups should be rejoicing and praising God for an answer to prayer."
Burress points out that in 1994 Boehner was heavily involved with the GOP leadership when it crafted the "Contract with America," which the CCV leader says "moved the pro-family movement to a new height in activity and involvement."
