'Based on his record, Jim Martin will support an extreme pro-abortion agenda if he is elected to the U.S. Senate,' according to Douglas Johnson, a spokesman for National Right to Life
Martin faces off against incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss in a December 2 runoff for a six-year term in the U.S. Senate
Contact: Douglas Johnson, 202-626-8820, Legfederal@aol.com
MEDIA ADVISORY, November 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the nation's major pro-life organization, said that Chambliss has a perfect pro-life voting record throughout his service in the Senate. For example, Chambliss voted in favor of the federal ban on partial-birth abortion (a method in which a living baby is delivered feet first, all except for the head, after which the skull is punctured and the brain removed). Chambliss also voted for legislation to require that an abortionist notify a parent before performing an abortion on a minor who is a resident of a different state.
In contrast, during his time in the Georgia legislature, Martin was "one of the legislature's most outspoken abortion-rights advocates," as the Florida Times-Union (Georgia edition) accurately reported (March 26, 1997).
As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in 1997, Martin refused to allow a vote on a bill to ban partial-birth abortion, even after 13 of the 16 members on his committee had cosponsored the bill. The legislature's Democratic leadership finally employed an unusual procedure to bypass Martin's committee and allow a floor vote on the ban, which passed by a three-to-one margin (132-43), with Martin voting against it.
Martin was also out of step with the vast majority of Georgia lawmakers on the question of whether a parent should be notified before an abortion is performed on a minor. In 1988, the Georgia House passed legislation to require notification of a parent, or a waiver from a court, before an abortion could be performed on a minor. The bill passed by a 9-to-1 margin (142-16), with Martin one of the tiny minority of "no" votes.
"After the new Congress convenes in January, pro-abortion lawmakers will attempt to establish federal funding for abortion on demand, and to roll back other pro-life policies," Johnson said. "We need Senator Chambliss back in the Senate to help resist this radical pro-abortion agenda, an agenda that Martin would fully support."
Another item on the pro-abortion "wish list" is the radical "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA), a proposed federal law that would nullify virtually all state limits on abortion, including parental notification laws, and make partial-birth abortion legal again. President-elect Obama has endorsed enactment of the FOCA.
NRLC's Johnson is available for interviews regarding the contrasting records of Chambliss and Martin on pro-life issues, and on the abortion-related policy fights that are likely to develop during the next session of Congress. To arrange an interview, call 202-626-8820 or send e-mail to Legfederal@aol.com
