Congressmen Franks, Goodlatte participate in pro-life conference

Liberty University welcomed Congressmen Bob Goodlatte (R-VA-6th District) and Trent Franks (R-AZ-2nd District) Nov. 13 as part of Liberty’s R.O.S.E. (Reclaiming Others’ Sacred Existence), a student-initiated pro-life conference — the largest to be held on a college campus. The two representatives spoke at a “Politics of Abortion” seminar in the Schilling Center, where they gave updates on abortion-sensitive legislation circulated in Congress and participated in a question-and answer-session.

Most recently, these two men worked to remove a provision in the proposed national health care reform legislation that would allow Americans’ tax monies to fund abortions.

“Members on both side of the aisle, including myself, wrote letters to the [House] speaker, asking that this be taken out of the bill, asking that amendments be made to correct that provision in the bill,” Goodlatte said, “and because of that strong stand by Democrats and Republicans, the speaker was finally forced to do just that.”

In 2008 Franks proposed the Susan B. Anthony Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, which states that you cannot discriminate against an unborn child by subjecting him or her to an abortion based on race or sex.

“The dark secret of the abortion movement is the movement’s racist underpinnings. A black child is nearly five times more likely to be aborted than a white child. Due to abortion-on-demand, fully one-fourth of the black population in this nation is now missing,” Franks said. “Not long ago recordings surfaced of Planned Parenthood clinic workers openly accepting racist donations, specifically earmarked to kill a black child.”

This bill has not yet been made a law, but Franks said that it is important because 87 percent of the population agrees that this type of discrimination is wrong.

“To agree with that is to admit openly that there is a human being involved to be discriminated against,” Franks said.

Both Franks and Goodlatte encouraged the audience to take an active part in the political process and support the pro-life movement.

“Everything you do here at Liberty to make people more aware of this issue, and to get people focused on their own conscience and their own personal decision about this issue, is a wonderful thing,” Goodlatte said.

The R.O.S.E conference, scheduled for Nov. 11-14, was hosted by the Liberty University Student Government Association. It kicked off at Wednesday’s convocation with special guest Norma McCorvey — the plaintiff “Jane Roe” in the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case of 1973 — and an address delivered by Mathew D. Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law.

The conference continued on Wednesday afternoon with dual panel discussions addressing the Bible’s position on life and the role of the Judicial System in the abortion debate.

Other featured speakers for week included the Rev. Dr. Clenard H. Childress, Jr., founder of the nation’s largest African-American pro-life organization; Carol Everett, a former owner of an abortion clinic that facilitated 35,000 abortions; and other Liberty faculty and staff. The conference concludes on Saturday with a workshop on student activism hosted by the newly formed LU chapter of Students for Life.