AURORA, Ill. -- House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., steps into his new role with a track record of opposing abortion.

"We just know that he's very pro-life.  Anytime you want a pro-life vote, you go to Denny," said Irene Napier, Illinois delegate to the National Right to Life Committee.

She told The New Catholic Explorer, Joliet's diocesan newspaper, that Hastert was endorsed by the board of the Illinois right-to-life federation and its members. "Pro-life supporters are very excited that he is the new speaker of the House," she added.

Hastert, a Protestant, began his new post Jan. 6, taking over for Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., who resigned, and Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., the man who had hoped to succeed Gingrich but decided not to take the job and to resign from Congress.

The 57-year-old Hastert, known for making compromises, finds no middle ground on the abortion issue.

His voting record shows a consistent stand against abortion.  Since 1992, he has voted for a ban on partial-birth abortion except in the case when the mother's life is at risk.

In 1998, Hastert voted to maintain the current law that prohibits overseas U.S. military hospitals and medical facilities from performing abortions for U.S. service members and their dependents.

He also worked to prohibit the use of federal funds for physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia and mercy killing.

He supported a plan that made it a federal crime for someone who is not the parent to transport a minor across state lines with the intent to obtain an abortion.  He also voted with the majority to prohibit the Food and Drug Administration from using funds to test, develop or approve any drug for chemically induced abortions.

Fran Fortier, director of the Joliet Diocesan Family Life Office, said Hastert and the other Republican congressmen whose districts are in the area covered by the seven-county Joliet Diocese -- Henry Hyde, Jerry Weller, and Thomas Ewing -- as well as former Rep. Harris Fawell often have voted in accordance with Catholic teaching on abortion.

Other pressing issues for Hastert include education and drug prevention.  Two days after he was installed as speaker, Hastert returned to his home district in Kendall County to announce that months of work on an anti drug program netted $2.5 million worth of federal funding and is expected to help students at two of the largest local high schools thwart drug activity.

During a January 8 press conference in his district, Hastert called it essential that "kids have good schools in a safe, drug-free environment."

He explained that every time major cities like Chicago move to crack down on drugs, other urban communities in the surrounding metropolitan area suffer because the illegal activity relocates.

"So we need to work together," he said, urging citizens to work with those from other towns and cities to "compare notes, build alliances and brainstorm to stop drugs in our schools."

He collaborated with Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., and fellow Illinois Republican Rep. Weller to establish fines and prison sentences of up to five years for adults who contact minors over the Internet for purposes of illegal sexual activity.

"Even though our children may be at home with the doors locked, that doesn't mean that they are safe.  We must continue to be proactive in warding off pedophiles and other creeps who want to take advantage of our children....It's not infringing on liberties, it's about protecting our kids," said Hastert, who together with his wife Jean, has two children.

In some instances, Hastert has not voted for positions favored by Catholic leaders.  He voted against a move to close the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Ga., a U.S. military training school that has trained Latin American military officers who were later implicated in assassinations and human rights abuses.

He also voted against a bill that increased transportation funding by $108 million annually for individuals participating in the welfare-to-work program.

Born in Aurora, Ill., Hastert, who was raised Methodist, earned a bachelor's degree at Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian school in Illinois, and has a master's degree from Northern Illinois University.

A former high school teacher and wrestling coach, he served in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1981-86, was first elected to the U.S. House in 1986, and is currently serving his seventh term.  Hastert and his wife Jean have two sons, Josh, 22, and Ethan, 20.

Send a pro life letter (letter is preferable) or an email to your  Senators and representatives using the Directory at the Congressional Email Directory.  Point and click here to surf to their web site.

Copyright ©1999 Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

This article was published in the Arlington Catholic Herald,
200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 607, Arlington, VA 22203; Vol. 24, No 3;
page 10, dated Jan. 21, 1999.
E-mail: letters@catholicherald.com
Fax: 703/524-2782;
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Circulation: 703/841-2565

A note from the Web Master:

It is noteworthy and honorable that some folks are willing to stand up for a ban on Partial-Birth Abortion.  Let us not forget that ordinary everyday Abortion is also murder.  We must understand that murder is murder no matter the method.  Because one method of abortion seems to be horrible does not justify the other methods.  We should be horrified and sickened by any Abortion regardless of the method.  The Fifth Commandment spells it out clearly: "Thou shalt not kill."  A fetus is a person, a human being with a God given soul.  Imagine the pain the Lord must feel when any Abortion occurs.  Please contact both of your Senators and Representative, via letter or phone,  to let them know how horrified you are that Abortions are legal and to stop Partial-Birth Abortions and all other Abortions as soon as possible. (It has become apparent that they do not respond to email therefore you will have more of an impact by writing or telephoning.)

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