Issue Position: Pro-Life Issues

Issue Position

Jim Banks Champions Right to Life Issues

Jim Banks and his wife Amanda have dedicated much of their adult lives to the pro-life cause - from serving on boards like Allen County Right to Life, supporting pro-life organizations and candidates, and advancing pro-life policies as legislators. Jim is running for Congress so that northeast Indiana continues to have a strong voice for innocent lives in Washington, D.C. Jim has worked hard over the past five years in Indianapolis and been a part of important pro-life successes in the state legislature - he wants to bring that track record to Congress.

Send Jim to Washington and he will:

*support a human life amendment to the Constitution

*continue to sponsor and vote in favor of legislation to restore legal protections to unborn babies

*support and vote in favor of legislation to prohibit taxpayer funding for all abortions

*vote to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood and any other organization that performs abortions in the U.S. or abroad

*support the ongoing prohibition of abortion services at military facilites and in the District of Columbia

*support reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy that President Obama overturned by executive order

*vote to require parental consent before a minor can receive services at federally-funded Title X family planning clinics

*support legislation that prohibits research that involves killing human embryos

*support legislation that completely bans all forms of human cloning

*oppose the use of federal fund to distribute abortion-causing drugs such as RU-486

*oppose any change to the pro-life plank of the Republican Platform which since 1984 has declared "The unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed."

While it has been far too long since the Supreme Court discovered that women have a "right" to have an abortion, the right to life movement has made significant progress. Unfortunately much of this progress has been at the state level. While many of the issues related to this cause should be decided at the state level, the increased involvement of the federal government in our personal health care decisions and in funding our safety net programs means that many of these battles must be fought at the federal level as well.

A great example of this challenge is legislation that Jim was pleased to sponsor, HEA 1210 in the 2011 legislative session. This landmark pro-life legislation actually defunded Planned Parenthood and any other organizations that provide abortions in the state of Indiana. Unfortunately this legislation was successfully challenged in court so that state dollars attached to federal contracts for health services continue to fund organizations that provide abortions. Thankfully Congress is finally starting to take action on this issue and it is a legislative battle that Jim is eager to join.

Defending the right to life of innocent human beings from the womb until natural death is a touchstone conservative principle and has been a core part of both Jim and Amanda's lives. After college both worked for Focus on the Family and advocated for the right to life in Congress and across the country. Upon returning to northeast Indiana, Jim and Amanda joined the Allen County Right to Life Board of Directors where Amanda continues to serve as the board's vice president. Their most important contribution to the movement has been parenting their three little gifts from God.

As a legislator Jim Banks has a 100% pro-life voting record. In addition to voting for life every opportunity he's had, Jim has introduced a number of bills designed to limit abortions and protect the health of women considering an abortion. In addition to sponsoring HEA 1210 in 2011, Jim wrote legislation that:

*ensured facilities where abortions are performed meet the same health and safety standards of any other health clinic,

*required abortionists to maintain admitting privileges at a hospital in the same community where they perform abortions

*prohibited abortions being performed due to the gender or disability of the baby

*mandated abortionists provide expectant mothers with written materials about abortion alternatives

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