by John Rose, U.S. Representative – Tennessee’s Sixth Congressional District
This Sunday many families, including mine, will celebrate Father’s Day. Being a father is one of the most important parts of my life and has only intensified my belief in protecting the sanctity of life. I am grateful for my two sons, Guy and Sam, and all that I have learned and experienced from being their father. Children and the miracle of life come from God and deserve our vigilant protection.
As a member of the Pro-Life Caucus, protecting the unborn has been an important concern of mine during my first two terms in Congress. Our society cannot leave our most vulnerable unprotected. That is why I have cosponsored several bills designed to create protections for unborn lives. One of the most notable is H.R. 1011, the Life at Conception Act, which states the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization. I believe it is imperative for us as a nation to recognize the right to life should be guaranteed for even the youngest of us all.
Unknown to most, there are no protections currently in place for babies who survive a failed abortion. I’ve cosponsored H.R. 619, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to ensure that babies who survive abortions get the care and medical attention they need. Unbelievably, this bill has been stuck in committee since its introduction earlier this year. My colleagues and I have tried to bypass the committee process and bring this bill directly to the House Floor for a vote through a parliamentary procedure known as a discharge petition. We currently have 211 of the 218 signatures needed to be successful, and we will keep working until we get all 218 – or more.
I have also supported several pieces of legislation that would protect babies from abortions when they start to feel pain, protect taxpayers from funding abortions, and guarantee women are given the option of seeing an ultrasound before an abortion. These are just a few pieces of important legislation we can enact to start to protect one of America’s most important assets—our children and our future.
As your representative in Congress, a Christian, and a father, I will always fight for the right to life and for traditional family values. I am so happy to have received an A+ rating from the Susan B. Anthony List and a 100% rating from the National Right to Life from my first term in Congress, and I can promise you I will continue to support pro-life legislation. The family is a cornerstone of American society, and at a time when traditional values are under attack, it is important to safeguard that first source of support. We must protect those who cannot protect themselves.
