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The Eagle Eye Blog

10 Reasons why we oppose the Equal Rights Amendment

12/3/2019

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1. Vague and poorly written
ERA does not allow any distinction to be made between men and women – even when it makes sense to do so based on their biological differences.
As a result, the ERA will harm women AND their unborn children by overturning laws and programs that benefit them.


2. Harmful to unborn children
The ERA would be used to overturn all restrictions on abortion (including the partial birth abortion ban, 3rd-trimester abortion ban and parental notice of minors seeking an abortion).

3. The ERA would be used to mandate taxpayer funding of elective Medicaid abortions.
In both New Mexico and Connecticut, their state ERAs were used in the courts to overturn restrictions on abortions and mandate taxpayer funding of elective Medicaid abortions with the rationale that since abortion is unique to women, restricting abortions is a form of sex discrimination. ” (N.M. Right to Choose/NARAL v. Johnson, 975 P.2d 841, 1998; and Doe v. Maher, 515 A.2d 134 [Conn Super. Ct. 1986]

4. The ERA would overturn laws and practices that benefit women
Workplace laws that provide special accommodations for pregnant women State labor laws and guidelines which benefit women who do heavy, manual work Government programs that support women as mothers such as the Women, Infants, and Children nutritional program (WIC)
Social Security benefits for stay-at-home mothers based on their spouse’s

income. Justice Ginsberg claims that the current gender neutral benefit language is still a violation of the equality principle because it encourages women to stay out of the workforce, and as such she would overturn the benefit.
Exemption of women from the military draft and front-line combat. Currently, women who feel they are physically able can choose to enlist in the military. The ERA, however, would require that all women be drafted and placed on front-line combat in equal ratios to men.
Laws and presumptions that support women in the areas of 
alimony, child support, and requirements of husbands to pay for their dependent wives’ medical bills. The ERA will also wipe out state laws that exempt a wife from having to pay her husband’s debts even if he deserts her with children to support.
All other laws that provide preferential treatment for women

5. ERA would impact the privacy and safety of women and girls
By removing gender designations for bathrooms, locker rooms, jails and hospital rooms.

6. The ERA will not give women any more rights than they currently have.
Women already have claim to equal rights through the 14th Amendment (section 1) as well as numerous other laws in virtually all areas of American life – employment (including equal pay), education, credit eligibility, housing, public accommodations, etc.
The US Supreme Court has already applied the 14th Amendment to women’s issues (United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515 (1996)).

7. ERA won’t erase the gender wage gap.
Women are already guaranteed equal pay through the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963 and can seek remediation through the EEOC. The currently quoted wage gap between men and women is a misunderstood statistic in which the average wages of all full-time working men and women are compared in one lump sum of men to women across all occupations and education levels. This doesn’t allow for an equal pay comparison. When we compare the wages of men and women within the same career, in similar positions, at the same age, the wage gap narrows to 98 cents for women compared to a dollar for men. Even when we compare within career fields, key factors such as years worked, the level of education, and time flexibility of job, etc. are not factored into the comparison (see “An Analysis of the Reasons for the Disparity in Wages Between Men and Women” U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2009).

8. The ERA would also transfer large amounts of legislative power from the states to Congress creating a greater imbalance of power and placing sensitive issues under the less responsive federal government.
Section 2 of the ERA requires that Congress be given the power to enact the provisions of the ERA.As a result, states would lose their legislative abilities in regards to family law (marriage, divorce, alimony, custody, adoption, and property), sex crime laws, public and private schools, insurance, prison regulations and any other areas of law impacted by gender.

9. It’s clear that ERA sponsors intended for the ERA to overturn all restrictions on abortion.
Efforts to soften the extreme nature of the ERA via amendments were rejected by the supporters of the ERA when the ERA was being drafted in Congress. Courts will look to this legislative history for legislative intent as they interpret the ERA. The sample amendment below that was rejected shows that the supporters intended the applications of the ERA to be extreme and without any protection for women or their unborn children. This amending language for the ERA was rejected by the supporters: “The provisions of this article shall not impair the validity, however, of any laws of the United States or any State which exempt women from compulsory military service, or from service in combat units of the Armed Forces; or extend protections or exemptions for wives, mothers, or widows; or impose upon fathers responsibility for the support of children; or secure privacy to men or women, or boys or girls; or make punishable as crimes rape, seduction, or other sexual offenses” (Cong. Rec., pp. S9538–S9540).

10. The accepted time limit for ratification of Constitutional amendments is 7 years.
ERA failed in 1979. Five states voted to rescind their earlier approval of ERA. Any vote for ERA today is null and void and would be an embarrassment to the state.
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Gayle Ruzicka, President of Utah Eagle Forum Speaking At Abortion Free Utah Press Announcement

6/22/2019

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Transcript:
​My name is Gayle Ruzicka. I Am President of Utah Eagle Forum and also, along with so many people you see here today, a founder of this organization. The day that we got Roe v. Wade, I determined that I would never stop fighting to overturn Roe v. Wade. I want to share with you some of the things that have happened over the years as we've worked towards this goal. Back in 1991, I had just moved in the state two years before that, we passed a bill. I want to tell you about that bill because we worked hard. We spent two years traveling around the state, organizing and planning to make this happen. This bill was a bill that said that life begins at implantation of a fertilized egg.


We went on from there, in this bill, to talk about the rights of the unborn. In this bill, it said the policy of the legislature in Utah, under the Utah Constitution, which recognizes that liberty and life, founded on inherent and inalienable rights, are entitled to protection of the law and due process, and that the unborn children have an inherent and inalienable right that are entitled to protection by the State of Utah, that the State of Utah has a compelling interest in the protection of human life, including that of unborn children.

It goes on again and talks more about the Utah Constitution and the protection of the unborn, giving unborn children the very same rights as children that are born. As people, as all of us in the State of Utah, that is what we need to work for. That bill passed. It was signed by the governor and passed. And you know what? It went all the way to the Supreme Court. It got cert. That is important. Very few bills ever make it all the way to the Supreme Court. This one got there. On the way, we had a lot of mishaps and people playing games with it and trying to stop it from passing, I mean, getting all the way there. But it went there. It made it. But when it got there, sad to say, one of the judges, one of the justices had retired Byron White. We needed his vote to overturn Roe, so it was struck down.

But that doesn't mean we give up. That was 1991 and I have not given up one day since then. I have worked, every year, to see that something ... we try to get something passed. We have passed lots of bills over the years and we have worked our way toward that very thing of going back to the gold standard, the standard that says life begins at conception, the standard that says the unborn child has a constitutional right to life just like you do, like all of us do, And we're going to do that. We're going to keep going and we are going to do that. That is our goal. I think everybody in this room who loves those unborn babies would agree with that, that those little babies have that right. I want you to know that I will not stop fighting, and I'm sure all of you in this room feel the same way, or you wouldn't be here today. We will not stop until we pass that same bill again, and this time, make sure it's upheld. Thank you.

​https://www.abortionfreeutah.org

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Response to Planned Parenthood & ACLU Lawsuit

4/10/2019

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We would like to thank Representative Cheryl Acton for all her hard work and courageous action in defending life.   She has had multiple Interviews (on and off camera) all day because of the injunction filed today to stop the enactment of HB136. She sent the following press release to the media: ​
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Press Release

Representative Cheryl Acton
​

Though I cannot say that I welcomed a lawsuit against HB136, I did expect one because the ACLU and Planned Parenthood use the threat and cost of litigation to intimidate states into maintaining the status quo on abortion, regardless of the sentiments of the people of those states. 
​

Planned Parenthood makes a lot of money on the abortion of babies, and HB136 threatens that revenue stream. Both organizations capitalize on lawsuits in their fundraising efforts, so they cannot be said to be unbiased on the issue. 

HB136 was passed by elective representatives expressing the will of the people of Utah. That is the proper way for laws to be passed, according to our state and federal Constitutions. 

I ran HB136, limiting elective abortion to 18 weeks, for four primary reasons: 

1) The physical, psychological, and future fertility health of women, because abortion's risks to women increase exponentially with gestation. The increased rate of suicide and mental health issues, as well as future fertility issues, are especially well documented. 

2) Fetal pain perception, which increases over gestation with all circuitry in place by 18 weeks. We can now observe that fetuses do feel pain by monitoring fetal pulse, blood flow, and stress hormones. We also have a real-time window into the womb through advances in ultrasound technology. 

3) The abortion procedure used in second trimester abortion shocks the conscience. The abortionist dismembers a living baby in the womb then re-assembles the body on a tray to ensure that all parts were removed. In Utah, we have laws against dismembering a human corpse, but it is lawful to dismember a living unborn child. Interestingly, this procedure was not used in 1973, when Roe v Wade was handed down.
 

4) Most countries, including most Western European countries, limit abortion to the first trimester, or 12-13 weeks. HB136 preserves a woman's right to choose abortion for any reason at all until 18 weeks, and allows an array of exceptions after 18 weeks (longer than one NFL football season), including one new exception. (Those exceptions are rape, incest, life of the mother, permanent impairment of the mother, fatal fetal defect, and severe fetal brain abnormality.) 

Utah should be leading out on this issue, because the vast majority of Utahns oppose abortion, especially in the second trimester. (According to a Gallup poll conducted in May 2018, 72% of people nationally oppose second trimester abortion.) With the nation's highest birthrate, Utah should be the safest place in the nation for all people, especially children, born and unborn. 
​

It is my hope that abortion law will be returned to the states, where it resided prior to Roe, so that the people of each state may decide the issue in the normal legislative process.

​###
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The ERA is Back

3/22/2019

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Pro-Life Leaders: We Must Expose The Equal Rights Amendment!

The Equal Rights Amendment could mean unlimited abortion, on-demand, and at taxpayer expense, all protected by the Constitution. Learn how you can help stop it at ExposeERA.org / StopERA.org

Posted by Eagle Forum on Friday, March 22, 2019
The Equal Rights Amendment is not about Equal Rights—it is about ensuring abortion is legal in all nine months and taxpayer funded.​
​


​In 1982, the ERA fell three states short of ratification to be added as an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. However, abortion activists are now afraid that Roe v. Wade is going to fall, returning the decision of legal abortion back to the States. The National Organization for Women President, Toni Van Pelt, has already admitted,  the ERA “is hugely important for reproductive rights, for birth control, for abortion…"  


To “protect” abortion, the pro-abortion lobby has decided to try to ratify the ERA in the remaining three states and then hope Congress or the courts will nullify the original time expiration. Legislators in Nevada and Illinois have already voted to ratify, there is only one state left.
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UTAH COUNTY LIBERTY FORUM

3/12/2019

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You are invited!
WEDNESDAY - March 13 , 2019   10:00 am to 12:00 pm - Provo City Library  550 N. University Ave., Provo

"A NEW Look at our Inspired Constitution"
How Christian Values and Constitutional Principles Work together to Promote Happiness, Peace and Prosperity.  By Pamela Romney Openshaw

Not only is the Constitution tied to ancient Israel and Native American cultures, but every part of the U S Constitution is infused with the principles of Christianity.  Come join us as Pamela Romney Openshaw, researcher, lecturer and author, explores the Christian nature of the Constitution.  She will show how this document is founded on religious principles and how EVERY portion of this inspired document is connected to eight sets of dual Christian values, such as Agency & Accountability, Work & Self Reliance, Justice & Mercy.   

Come gain a new appreciation for our nation’s Constitution and learn what we need to do to preserve it for our day and for future generations
 
​Please plan now to attend and bring your friends and neighbors.  Get Informed--Take Action--Make a Difference

For more information contact Cathy Young 801-380-1166 or Barbara Petty 801-830-0609

Follow up info on "Science - the forced reeducation of your child" by Vince Neumeyer.  A draft of the Science and Engineering Education (SEEd ) Standards for  Kindergarten-5th grade/9th -12th  is available for public review and feedback. An online public feedback survey tool is available until  April 11, 2019 at 11:45pm."  To read the draft, find dates of public hearings and access the survey link go to:  https://www.schools.utah.gov/file/3ef9be53-f521-4e2b-9c77-e4f492747d0d . 
Everyone needs to sign the Science Standards Petition at https://sciencefreedom.org/ut-science-petition-2019.php
Other Utah Science Standards Info at: https://sciencefreedom.org/UTSEEd-2019.html
General info at ScienceFreedom.org
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Vote Expected Today on Convention to Amend the Us Constitution

3/5/2019

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We need you to Email, Text House Memebers AND come up to the Capitol Tonight 6pm-10pm, the legislature will be in session tonight until 10pm!
We are expecting a House vote on SJR9, Convention to Amend the United States Constitution TODAY. This is our LAST CHANCE, it has already passed the Senate, If you don't wan't this to pass, you need to ACT TODAY!!
If the resolution passes in the House today Utah will then be one of the States calling for a Constitutional Convention that could re-write our divinely inspired US Constitution.
We are now at that time in History where YOU are needed to Save The US Constitution.  Join us, and other like minded Patriots at the Capitol Tonight to voice your opposition regarding SJR9 to your elected representatives. 
For those who can't possibly make it, be sure to send your emails as soon as possible so they will have them before the vote.
***Scroll down for the Legislator names and contact information***

The group pushing this horrible bill is called Convention of States, or COS, it is an organization whose sole purpose is to convince state legislatures to pass their model legislation.

COS has proposed over 20 amendments, which by their own words is intentionally vague. COS attorney Robert Kelly said, “our application is fairly broad ... it opens up all the articles, that’s true!”

Please remember that all 50 states with differing agendas will be there proposing amendments, such as, election laws, energy policy, education, healthcare, religious freedom, marriage equality, gender identity, Equal Rights Amendment, balanced budget, term limits etc. How is that not rewriting the constitution?

Jordan Sillars, Communication Director for COS, said, “I think the majority of Americans are too lazy to elect honest politicians. But I think some men and women could be found who are morally and intellectually capable of re-writing the Constitution.”
PLEASE ACT NOW THE VOTE WILL BE TODAY  -  Email and text the members below, ask them to VOTE NO to the Resolution Calling for a Convention of the States to change the US Constitution!

  • Send messages by email, text and tweet House Members.
  • Forward this alert to everyone on your email list.
  • Bring your friends and come to the Capitol to write notes and talk to legislators.
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