Last month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would resign from her position as leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, and would no longer seek leadership positions within the next Congress. But the man whom Democrats have chosen to replace her — Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York — is as ardently pro-abortion as his predecessor.
Jeffries will become the first Black person to lead a party, though he will not become Speaker of the House, as Democrats will no longer be in control of the chamber as a result of the 2022 midterm elections. Pelosi applauded the new generation of Democrats ascending to power. “Together, this new generation of leaders reflects the vibrancy and diversity of our great nation — and they will reinvigorate our caucus with their new energy, ideas and perspective,” she said.
Yet there won’t be much of a new perspective from Jeffries.
Earlier this year, he condemned the pro-life movement as a threat, even as pro-abortion groups raged and enacted violence against churches, pregnancy centers, and pro-life offices. “The threat right now, in this country, to the American people, are extreme MAGA Republicans,” Jeffries claimed. “That’s the threat. That’s the problem. That’s the crisis that we confront, extreme MAGA Republicans. Why? They are extreme on reproductive freedom,” he said. “They want to criminalize abortion care.”
He also criticized Texas legislators for passing a law protecting preborn children from abortion once a heartbeat can be detected, remaining consistent in his ad hominem attacks. “Later on this week, we will pass legislation sponsored by Judy Chu, the Women’s Health Care Protection Act [WHPA], to make it clear that women across America should have the freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions,” he said. “[It] shouldn’t be determined by a bunch of yahoos in Texas and a negligent Supreme Court.”
The WHPA was extreme, even in the view of some pro-abortion lawmakers, and failed to pass. It went far beyond merely codifying Roe v. Wade; it would have allowed abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, for any reason, and eliminated all state-level protections for preborn children. It also would have mandated that states cannot pass bans on abortion prior to viability. Though viability is currently placed at about 24 weeks gestation, medical advancements have allowed premature children to survive at younger and younger ages, making viability a meaningless and arbitrary standard.
Jeffries also opposed a bill protecting preborn children from abortion after 20 weeks gestation. The latest research shows that preborn children begin to feel pain by the end of the first trimester.
Pelosi may cheer Jeffries on as a new leader for Democrats, but his abortion advocacy makes it clear that much will remain the same.
