Pro-lifers to protest office of Rep. Renee Ellmers over abortion

Pro-lifers already assembling in Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life which mourns the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion on demand, are also planning protests at the offices a Rep. Renee Ellmers as well as Senator Mitch McConnell.

This morning, Rev. Pat Mahoney led pro-lifers in prayer at outside offices of newly elected Senate Majority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell.

“What a powerful witness it would be for Majority Leader McConnell to see hundreds of people kneeling in prayer outside of his office on the Roe v. Wade Memorial.” Rev. Mahoney said ahead of the event.

Rev. Mahoney said the group is praying that Senator McConnell will allow pro-life bills to move through the Senate which will help end abortion and ensure human rights and justice for all.

“It is critical that on the Roe v. Wade Memorial the newly elected Majority Leader see a powerful and public pro-life witness as we kneel in prayer outside of his office and he is challenged to “Remember” the most innocent and vulnerable in our society.

“Through prayer we can see God shift, shape and transform history by ending abortion!” Rev. Mahoney stated.

In addition to Senator McConnell’s office, pro-lifers are also planning a protest outside the offices of GOP House member Renee Ellmers, who led the move to pull the vote on a bill that would ban abortions past 20 weeks.

The news broke last night, that after pressure from some female representatives in the House, Republicans have tabled an expected vote on the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortion after 20 weeks. The bill, is supported by a majority of Republican members and all but six GOP members voted for the measure when it came before the House in 2013.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Trent Franks had planned on the vote coming today because of the abortion law anniversary.

In a closed-door open-mic session of House Republicans, North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers led the effort to pull the pro-life law telling the conference that she believes the bill will cost the party support among millennials, reports the National Journal.

“I have urged leadership to reconsider bringing it up next week.… We got into trouble last year, and I think we need to be careful again; we need to be smart about how we’re moving forward,” Ellmers said in an interview. “The first vote we take, or the second vote, or the fifth vote, shouldn’t be on an issue where we know that millennials—social issues just aren’t as important [to them].”

In response, pro-life leaders Jill Stanek and Rev. Pat Mahoney have organized a protest outside the offices of Congresswoman Renee Ellmers.

“Urgent! We are meeting for a pro-life witness and protest at congresswoman Ellmers office today at 3 PM.we will be gathering at the corner of Independence Avenue in New Jersey Southeast in front of the Longworth House office building. Then we go to her office at 1210. ‪#‎theyfeelpain‬,” Rev. Mahoney writes on his Facebook page.

“Republican Congresswoman Renee Ellmers is behind the shutdown of HR 36, Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which was supposed to be passed in Congress TODAY but has now been scuttled,” the Facebook event page states, “Pro-lifers will peacefully protest Congressman Ellmers’ blockage of a bill to protect babies destined for death by abortion from the age of 20 weeks on.”

Stanek directs pro-lifers to read a RedState article written by Erick Erickson and entitled, “The Two Faces of Renee “Abortion” Ellmers as House Republicans Fail Pro-Lifers”

Erickson says:

Ellmers, according to multiple sources, persuaded a number of women in the House Republican Conference to walk away from the bill to ensure it could not pass. Then she declared she’d vote for it once she was sure it could not pass.

It was a two-faced ploy that worked.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Americans will march in support of life in Washington. But the Republicans will not re-pass their 2013 legislation because of Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC)51%. Instead, they’ll try to pass legislation prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion. That amounts to throwing pro-lifers a few table scraps.

The legislation, which even Renee Ellmers voted for in 2013, did not subject the GOP to attacks in 2014. In fact, it put several Democrats on defense.

According to reports, Rep. Renee Ellmers raised her objections to specific language in the bill that requires a rape victim to formally report her assault to police to qualify for an exemption from the legislation’s abortion restrictions.

Mark Crutcher, president of Life Dynamics, Inc., a national pro-life organization located in Denton, Texas called that reasoning absurd, “Why wouldn’t we want women to do the very thing that would protect them the most?” he asked.

Crutcher said he found Rep. Ellmers premise insulting to women, “It is insulting to women to portray them as frail little waifs not strong enough to fight back against what happened to them.”

The move by Ellmers has sparked criticism of the GOP from a variety of leaders.

Todd Starnes, host of FOX News & Commentary went after the Republicans for not having courage to stand for the unborn, “What is the point of the Republican Party if they don’t have the courage to stand up for the unborn? Someone, please tell me,” he posted to his Facebook page.

Erick Erickson tweeted this scathing rebuke, “Renee Ellmers is the GOP’s Abortion Barbie.”

Crutcher who has criticized the Republican party’s cowardice on abortion in the past has compared the GOP to a Frilled-Necked Lizard.

Among the many strange creatures found in the Australian outback is one called the Frilled-Necked Lizard. He has this umbrella-like structure around his neck which, when threatened, he splays out in an effort to look larger to his adversaries. To complete the effect, his skin grows darker in color; he opens his mouth widely and emits a loud hissing sound while rocking back and forth on his hind legs.

Crutcher explains, “It’s quite a sight, and it does make him appear somewhat menacing. The problem is, it’s all for show. If a potential foe makes even a faint move toward him, this guy turns and runs away like his head’s on fire. Despite his warrior-like appearance, he is actually more of a song-and-dance-man. It is a trait that makes him the obvious candidate to replace the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party. After all, elephants are noble animals who will take on a pride of lions to protect their young, and no one can even remotely suggest this is true about the GOP.”