Tea Party Issues Should Include Abortion

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The Tea Party Movement has been careful not to take on the "social issues," and for good reason. The Tea Party has been all about the Constitution, and National Politics. However, though the conservative-style movement has shied away from abortion as an issue, it is well known that the members of the Tea Party are more likely to be Pro-Life, than not. Now that the Tea Party has matured, it is time to add the debate on abortion to its platform . . . but not in the way you may assume.

Abortion is a question of morality for some, and just a matter of when life begins to others. Neither of these arguments should be at the center of the debate when the Tea Party adopts abortion as an issue. The Tea Party must remain true to its founding. The United States Constitution has been at the center of the Tea Party Movement, and should be at the center of the debate on the abortion issue as well.

Keeping the abortion issue about "the rule of law" is the key for the Tea Party. To accomplish that, the members of the Tea Party must understand what that means. From a constitutional standpoint, the issue is all about government authority. The morality angle of this issue is indeed important, but the crux of the issue must be about whether or not the federal government has the authority to legislate, regulate, and fund abortion.

The legislative powers determining the allowance of abortion belongs to the States. There is no place in the U.S. Constitution that grants to the federal government the authority to have anything to do with abortion. That means the taxpayer funding of abortion must stop. That means Planned Parenthood cannot constitutionally receive federal funding. That means that Roe v. Wade is unconstitutional, and must be repealed. That also means, however, that the federal government cannot pass legislation banning abortion, either. The abortion issue is a State issue, so if laws are to be passed eliminating the murder of the unborn from our society, it must be done at the State level, one by one.

The only legally acceptable plan of attack at the federal level to make abortion illegal is through a Constitutional Amendment.

Do not be deceived, there is no clause in the United States Constitution that gives the federal government any authority over abortion. Also understand that some States, should the constitutional path be traveled, may keep abortion legal. As horrible as that is, it is something we must live with until we can convince even the most reluctant states to ultimately ban the barbaric practice of killing babies. We live in a moral nation, and a large part of living up to that morality is to live up to our claim that we are a nation of laws, and that we are governed by the rule of law as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution.

Abortion is a constitutional issue, and the Tea Party Movement is a constitutionally-minded group of patriots. For that reason it is absolutely reasonable for the Tea Party to take on the abortion issue, and influence Congress as much as possible when it comes to decisions regarding federal influence in the abortion industry.

Step one: Keep taxpayer money out of the business of funding abortion!

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary