By Hunter Hines
Christian Action League
September 25, 2015
RALEIGH – Thursday, the North Carolina Senate moved to pass one of the most significant pieces of pro-life legislation in the state’s history. HB 297 – End Marketing/Sale of Unborn Children Body Parts overwhelmingly passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 41-3.
In championing the measure on the Senate floor, the youngest Senator in the chamber, Sen. Chad Barefoot eloquently stated the purpose of the bill. Barefoot said:
“In the middle of July, national news organizations began to report that undercover videos had surfaced purporting to show the nation’s largest abortion clinic, Planned Parenthood, engaged in the selling and trafficking of unborn children body parts. The videos are utterly gruesome, callus, and their contents represent a very dark and depraved part of our culture. A part of our culture that many Americans did not know existed. I certainly didn’t.
“Unfortunately, these facts don’t go away. And we shouldn’t turn a blind eye. These videos have revealed that a marketplace for the sale of the remains of unborn children is thriving. While federal law prohibits the sale or purchase of aborted fetal tissue, it has become apparent that this policy can be circumvented.
“This bill prohibits the marketing and sale of unborn children body parts in North Carolina. It seeks to provide some level of dignity to unborn children who lose their lives due to an abortion.”
As stated in an Urgent Action Alert sent by the Christian Action League on Wednesday, the legislation actually does two things:
- It codifies language in our state statutes to permanently prevent taxpayer monies from funding Planned Parenthood. Last week the Christian Action League explained in this report, General Assembly Passes 2015 Budget: No Lottery Expansion and No Funding for Planned Parenthood, that Planned Parenthood was defunded in the state budget for 2015. This is true. But without a state statute that prohibits the funding of Planned Parenthood the defunding is only a temporary fix that has to be addressed in each budget. HB 297 takes the matter of taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood further with a perpetual exclusion.
- The bill outlaws the sale of baby body parts. A shocking series of undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress recently revealed that this is a practice of Planned Parenthood. Recently, Dr. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League referred to the practice as “Frankensteinian” and “butcherous.” HB 297 will make such an egregious and barbarous act illegal by stating, “No person shall sell the remains of an unborn child resulting from an abortion, or a miscarriage, or any aborted or miscarried material.” It would make the act a Class I felony.
Dr. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League said that passage of the legislation is historic. “I also think it’s ironic that the bill was presented and advocated for in the Senate by its youngest member – a man who is in his early 30s. I think it’s a reflection that today’s generation of young adults are more pro-life than their parents.”
Barefoot, a devout Christian, also holds a Master of Arts degree in Christian Ethics from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest.
HB 297 now moves to the House for consideration on Monday night, September 28th.
Dr. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League added he expects the bill will pass with relative ease, but he cautioned it’s always good to contact your Representatives to let them know of your support for the measure. “Representatives can be pounded from the left on such bills. So they always need to hear reassuring voices,” he said.
Take Christian Action:
Take a moment to phone both your Representative in the N.C. House. If you don’t speak directly with him or her or their legislative assistant, leave a voice mail, remembering to always show Christian grace in your remarks. Please take a moment and call right now!!!
To identify who represents you in the N.C. Senate and House, go to WRAL’s Find Your Lawmakers and type in your home address.