Wyoming’s Pro-Life Democrats should be heard

Democrats for Life of America (DFLA) bought a full-page ad in last Sunday’s New York Times. It reprinted an August 14 letter from current and retired Democratic Party officials to the platform committee of the Democratic National Convention (DNC). It pressed the committee to listen to the “voices of innumerable elected pro-life Democrats across the United States of America” and reject the radical departure from the platform of the 2000 convention.

According to the letter, one third of registered Democrats—21 million voters—are pro-life. These have been abandoned by their party. The Democratic Platform of 2000 wanted abortion to be “less necessary and more rare.” It also stated, “[W]e respect the individual conscience of each American on this difficult issue, and we welcome all our members to participate at every level of our party.” This language has been stripped from the 2020 platform.

Instead, pro-life Democratic candidates and office holders have been driven from the party. The new platform supports the abortion of a full-term child without even the slightest qualification. This is so radical that 187 nations forbid it. The new platform keeps company with Communist China, Viet Nam and North Korea. The DNC even wants taxpayers to foot the bill both, at home and abroad.

The New York Times letter raises three major concerns. “1. We are concerned that many Democratic leaders support policies on abortion that are radically out of line with public opinion. Many Democratic leaders support abortion at any time, for any reason; this position is opposed by 79% of Americans… 2. We are concerned that, due to this wide disparity, the Democratic Party is alienating voters. In 389 out of 435 Congressional districts, a majority of voters support a ban on abortion after 20 weeks. When Democratic leaders support late-term abortion, they push many voters into the arms of the Republican Party… 3. Finally, we are concerned about the betrayal of Democratic Party values. An extreme position on abortion rights violates our commitment to inclusivity and diversity.”

This letter was signed by four governors and lieutenant governors, nine members of congress, 56 state legislators and 32 local officials. According to the DFLA website, many more wanted to join the 109 signatories but were unable to do so, due to fear of “the influence of Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-choice America in the party.”

The letter echoed another sent on July 24 by over 100 faith leaders ranging from Dr. Gabriel Salguero, President of the National Latino Evangelical Association, who served on President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, to Deaconess Tiffany Manor, Director of Life Ministry, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. It noted “that the Bible calls on us to speak up in favor of those who do not have a voice… [and] that life begins at fertilization [according to both Scripture and biology; and]… that abortion takes the life of the innocent.”

The letter also reminded the committee that “denying personhood to the pre-born child has disturbing parallels to Dred Scott vs. Sandford [which denied the personhood of slaves; and that] …the US is just one of seven countries, alongside North Korea, to allow the horrific practice of elective late-term abortion after 20 weeks.”

These faith leaders urged the DNC, “to recognize the inviolable human dignity of the child, before and after birth… to reject a litmus test on pro-life people of faith seeking office... [and] to end the explicit support in your platform for abortion extremism, such as taxpayer-funded abortion in America and overseas, opposed by 60% and 76% of voters.”

Not a single Wyoming Democrat signed the letter in Sunday’s New York Times. What does this say about the Wyoming Democratic Party? Does it have no pro-life office holders on either a local or state level? If Senate File 97 is any indication, it would seem so.

SF 97 was titled “Born alive infant-means of care.” It clarified Wyoming law that requires “commonly accepted means of care” for children who have survived abortions. The clarification defined the commonly accepted means of care as what would be “rendered to any other infant born alive.” Absent this qualification, an abortionist can simply leave the born-alive infant unattended and call it “commonly accepted means.” SF 97 passed the senate 23-7 and the House 44-16. Not one of Wyoming’s three Democrat senators and six representatives supported it.

Despite supermajorities in both chambers, Governor Gordon vetoed the bill. One justification that he gave for the veto was that, “the child might still pass away.” This obviously implies that some children would live, given the proper care.

As if to highlight the extremism of denying equal care to survivors of abortion, President Trump announced last Wednesday that he was preparing an executive order “to ensure that all precious babies born alive, no matter their circumstances, receive the medical care that they deserve.” The fact that such an executive order is even necessary reveals how extreme positions on abortion call into question even normal medical ethics for newborns delivered under the wrong circumstances.

For my part, I cannot believe that there are no pro-life Democrats in Wyoming. Those that I know, are appalled and ashamed both by their delegation’s unanimous opposition to SF 97 as well as the extremist platform adopted at the DNC. Many more may be unaware how far the goalposts have moved in the last 20 years.

If this describes you, it’s not too late to get involved and speak truth to power. A Chinese proverb says: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” On September 20, 109 pro-life Democratic office holders stood up to those at the DNC who hijacked their party platform. Pro-life Democrats in Wyoming should follow their lead and make their voices heard.

There are many ways this can be done. Write letters to the editor. Call your elected representatives and senators. Inform your fellow Democrats about the radical departure from the 2000 DNC platform. Show up at local precinct meetings and let them know how you feel. Run for precinct committeewoman or committeeman in the next election cycle. You represent a third of your party’s registered voters. There is no reason why your opinions should be so under-represented.

All politics are local. Unless we all work to bring our local institutions into line with our personal values, they will be coopted by international special interests that do not speak for us. They will exploit our good names to advance the very things that we abhor. It is the personal duty of every life-affirming Democrat to make sure that her voice is heard for the sake of those who cannot yet speak for themselves.