United States President George Bush’s successor as the governor of Texas was embroiled in an abortion row on Monday after signing a Bill which imposed stricter limits on late-term terminations and parental consent for minors who wanted the procedure.
Protesters were angry that Rick Perry signed the measure into law at an evangelical school in Fort Worth, claiming that the line between church and state on this issue was becoming increasingly blurred.
In the ceremony at the Calvary Christian academy, Perry also signed a resolution to amend the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. According to the Associated Press, up to 350 demonstrators gathered outside.
But inside more than 1 000 churchgoers cheered as Perry said: ”For too long, a blind eye has been turned to the rights of our most vulnerable human beings — the unborn in our society.”
Perry, who is up for re-election next year and faces fierce competition from fellow Republicans in the primary, caused controversy when he e-mailed supporters asking that the church school be filled for the event with ”pro-family Christian friends”.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a religious liberty watchdog in Washington, wrote to Perry urging him to call off Sunday’s event, saying it represented a ”grotesque misuse of religion for a clear partisan political advantage”.
The group said the signing ceremony ”has the appearance of a campaign rally” and was putting the academy’s tax-exempt status at risk.
”There are lots of reasons to go to church on Sunday, but making laws isn’t one of them,” Robin Lovin, a Methodist minister, told the New York Times.
Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in the US. Abortion rights supporters believe conservatives are pursuing an incremental strategy aimed at criminalising the procedure altogether.
Texas already required under-18s to obtain their parents’ consent before having an abortion. But the new measure requires a parent’s written consent.
The Bill also restricts doctors from performing abortions on women who have carried a child for more than 26 weeks unless the woman’s life is jeopardised or the baby has serious brain damage. More than 30 US states have implemented similar legislation.
Before Perry spoke, several pastors received standing ovations and shouts of ”Amen!” from the crowd as they spoke in favour of the two measures being signed.
”It seems to me that people of the great state of Texas will be silent no more,” said Rod Parsley, of the Centre for Moral Clarity in Ohio. ”Folks in this room understand, God is still watching.”
Perry then said:”It has been a tragedy of unspeakable consequences that for decades activist courts denied many Texas parents their right to be involved in one of the most important decisions their young daughter could ever make — whether to end the life that was growing inside her.”
But outside, protesters carried placards reading ”Separate church and state — Keep America great”. ”It hurts that he can cheapen politics and religion by this kind of manoeuvre and people can think it’s OK,” Karin Cagle (45) told the Associated Press.
Protesters also waved placards saying ”Hate is not a family value and God values all families”, showing their opposition to the governor’s decision to sign, although it was not required, the proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. The measure will be voted on in November. – Guardian Unlimited Â