Op-Ed: Biden's First 100 Days Have Been a Nightmare for Social Conservatives
Just over a hundred days ago, Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States of America. In his inaugural address, the new president promised to unify the nation.
After a contentious election season, and amid a still-dangerous pandemic, Biden pledged to be “a president for all Americans” who will “fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.”
However, despite promises to heal the nation’s political divides, President Biden has used his first 100 days to promote an aggressive, anti-life, anti-religious freedom agenda. Through executive orders, statements of administrative policy and personnel decisions, Biden has wasted little time in pivoting to the far left.
Even progressive Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has admitted Biden has “exceeded expectations” she and other liberals had for the new administration.
Consider just ten decisions made within the first 100 days of the new administration that show why social conservatives are not optimistic about the next four years.
Executive Order Redefining “Sex”
On the day of his inauguration, President Biden issued an executive order directing federal agencies to redefine “sex” to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in their policies against sex discrimination.
The order dramatically expands the scope of the Supreme Court’s ruling last summer in Bostock v. Clayton County that redefined “because of sex” in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 regarding employment non-discrimination.
The order undermines women’s privacy and safety and supports allowing biological males to compete in sports reserved for biological females.
Executive Order to Fund Overseas Abortion
On Jan. 28, President Biden rescinded the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy (popularly known as the Mexico City Policy) which prevented federal funds from going to foreign non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortion as a method of family planning.
The order also withdrew the United States from the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a 35-country initiative that seeks to promote life and family policies through international bodies.
Executive Order Politicizing the Military
Through executive order, President Biden reinstated an Obama-era policy that disregards military readiness, lethality and unit cohesion in support of social experimentation and political correctness by allowing transgender individuals to openly serve in the United States military (President Trump had overturned President Obama’s policy).
In addition to allowing them to openly serve, this will likely lead to the military paying for hormones and “gender reassignment surgery” as part of the medical care offered to soldiers who identify as transgender.
Support for the Equality Act
Joe Biden championed the Equality Act on the campaign trail and has continued advocating for it since taking office.
Before the House of Representatives passed the bill in February, the White House put out a statement supporting what it called “historic legislation.” The legislation would codify “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes under the nation’s civil rights laws.
If enacted into law, the Equality Act would also jeopardize longstanding federal conscience laws that protect those opposed to abortion. The bill also threatens women’s equality, privacy and safety and undermines the religious liberty of institutions (such as Christian universities) and individuals who dissent from the demands of the LGBT lobby.
COVID Relief Bill
In early March, President Biden signed a COVID-19 relief bill that goes well beyond providing relief from the pandemic. According to Politifact, only 1 percent went toward vaccines. Moreover, of the $1.9 trillion in the relief package, an estimated $467 billion is available to use for abortions or go to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood.
Support for HR 1
Following the contentious 2020 presidential election, many states around the country have introduced legislation to ensure election integrity. But Democrats in the House of Representatives passed the “For the People Act” (HR 1), legislation that would effectively federalize American elections.
The bill would also increase the donor disclosure requirements in elections and limit the ability of nonprofit organizations to speak on issues such as abortion and religious freedom. Provisions such as voting without an ID and same-day voter registration would allow opportunities for fraud.
Moreover, the bill has an unconstitutional religious test for participation in redistricting commission established by the bill. President Biden supports H.R. 1.
Personnel: Xavier Becerra
On March 18, Xavier Becerra was confirmed 50-49 as President Biden’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Becerra has a strong record defending the LGBT movement, having voted against the Defense of Marriage Act while in Congress. He is also committed to abortion rights. As a congressman, Becerra supported taxpayer funding of abortion and voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, and as California’s attorney general he prosecuted journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of baby body parts.
In his capacity as AG, Becerra argued that pro-life groups and pregnancy resource centers had to advertise abortions (he lost at the Supreme Court).
Personnel: Rachel Levine
On March 24, Rachel Levine was confirmed as the assistant secretary of health. Levine is a biological male who began presenting as a woman in 2011. Levine supports abortion rights and has expressed an interest in restoring Title X funding to abortion businesses. Further, Levine has called religious organizations being exempt from the Obamacare contraception mandate “immoral and unethical.”
Levine is a staunch advocate of the LGBT movement and during the confirmation hearing refused to say whether or not minors should receive gender reassignment surgery.
Title X
Eight days after his inauguration, President Biden ordered a review of the Trump administration’s Protect Life Rule that governed Title X family planning funding. Under Trump, Title X funds were not allowed to go to abortion providers.
On March 18, the Biden administration announced a plan to repeal the Trump-era rule. Once changes are made, Title X family planning grants will once again go to abortion businesses and require grantees to provide abortion referrals to their patients.
International Religious Freedom
During his first hundred days, President Biden has yet to nominate an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom or appoint an adviser on international religious freedom to the National Security Council.
Given the grave threats facing persecuted people around the world, it is critical that the Biden administration prioritize religious freedom as a part of its foreign policy.
Over the last 100 days, President Biden and his administration have been busy. From signing legislation and executive orders to making personnel decisions, Biden has delivered on some of his most important campaign promises.
But despite promises to unify the country, the president’s decision to tack hard to the left on social issues reveals he has little interest in working with conservatives to find common ground on issues such as abortion or religious liberty. This is unfortunate, and a reminder that elections have consequences.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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