SBA List President Dannenfelser: Congressman Kildee's Support for Pro-abortion Healthcare Reform is the Ultimate Betrayal

Contact: Mallory Quigley, Susan B. Anthony List, 703-380-6674, mquigley@sba-list.org  

WASHINGTON, March 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- In response to a letter sent from Rep. Dale Kildee to his colleagues today announcing his support of the abortion expansion language and the Senate Healthcare bill, Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the following statement:

"Congressman Kildee's support for the Nelson language goes completely against his pro-life record and principles. His vote for healthcare will be one for abortion and against Life--there is no middle ground. Congressman Kildee has put himself on the side of Barbara Boxer, who last November told McClatchy News' Rob Hotakainen that the Nelson language was 'only an "accounting procedure" that will do nothing to restrict coverage.'" 

"Congressman Kildee can no longer call himself 'pro-life.' He has set himself with the likes of NARAL, NOW, and Planned Parenthood, and has betrayed his pro-life principles and his constituents. 75% of voters in Rep. Kildee's district oppose taxpayer funding of abortion as part of health care reform, according to a survey commissioned by the Susan B. Anthony List this week. 56% of Rep. Kildee's constituents surveyed also said that they would be less likely to vote for him next Election Day if he supported healthcare with abortion funding. 

"Congressman Kildee has traded the lives of the unborn. He has made this choice to his own political peril. The Susan B. Anthony List will use all the resources available to ensure each voter in the Michigan's fifth district knows exactly what Congressman Kildee has done--betrayed his conscience, and the unborn. The voters will remember this come November."

Rep. Dale Kildee had been a supporter of the Stupak language, which would have prevented federal tax dollars from being used to fund abortions and healthcare plans that cover abortions. Today, Kildee sent a Dear Colleague letter announcing that he will support the Nelson language in the Senate bill, despite the fact that the language has been deemed unacceptable by national pro-life groups, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Rep. Kildee is a Catholic and prior to beginning his career as a public servant, spent six years in the seminary.

"Rep. Kildee's rationale for this support flies in the face of church teaching and the Catholic Bishops, who have condemned the language," continued Dannenfelser. "Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver called the Senate health care bill 'not merely defective, but also a dangerous mistake... Catholics and other persons of good will concerned about the foundations of human dignity should oppose it.'"

Earlier this week, the Susan B. Anthony List launched aggressive grassroots action targeting the group of pro-life Democrats who have been under tremendous pressure from the White House and Speaker Pelosi on abortion funding. Polling conducted in the past two weeks in 19 key Democratic districts by the polling companyTM, inc./WomanTrend found that, in virtually every district, at least two-thirds of voters opposed "using tax dollars to pay for abortions" and would reject a candidate who "votes for healthcare legislation that includes federal government funding of abortion."  The Susan B. Anthony List, who commissioned the polling, is spending over $500,000 in a two week campaign of mobilization efforts in the congressional districts polled.  Already, radio advertisements and patch-through constituent calls have been launched in 16 pro-life Democrat districts.

Prior to the current campaign, the SBA List has spent more than $1 million in a pro-life grassroots campaign.  Through the SBA List, activists have sent over 1.2 million letters and petitions to Congress opposing tax-payer funding of abortion in health care.  In addition, the organization has conducted 1.3 million automated calls, 60,000 patch-through constituent calls, targeted television and radio advertisements, and two regional media and mobilization tours in pro-life Democratic districts.

The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of Americans, over 280,000 residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.