Xavier Becerra was confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in a near party-line Senate vote March 18. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to join Democrats in the 50-49 vote, while Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii was not present.

Since President Joe Biden nominated Becerra in December, pro-life advocates and GOP members have argued that Becerra lacks direct experience in health care. He’s not a physician, nor does he have any medical experience. 

“There is nothing about Mr. Becerra’s record in Congress or in California to suggest he is the best possible person to run the Department of Health and Human Services in the middle of a once-in-a-generation viral pandemic,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.

Becerra served 12 terms in Congress before taking over as California’s attorney general when Vice President Kamala Harris left the post to take a Senate seat in 2017.

As California’s top justice official, Becerra pursued the prosecution of pro-life investigative journalists after they exposed Planned Parenthood’s role in the harvesting and sale of baby body parts; sued to strip conscience protections from Little Sisters of the Poor, insisting the nuns should be forced to pay for abortifacients and contraception; and defended a state law that required pro-life pregnancy care centers to provide information to their patients on how to obtain state-funded abortions.

“The confirmation of Xavier Becerra as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services is alarming given the fact that he has spent his career expanding pro-abortion policies and persecuting pro-life groups and individuals,” Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, said in a statement. “He has utilized his power as attorney general of California to punish groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor for their faith as well as the journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood’s trafficking in baby body parts.

“If his record is any indication, Becerra will weaponize the more than trillion-dollar budget of the Department of Health and Human Services to attack or disadvantage those with whom he disagrees, and advance unpopular pro-abortion policies,” she added. 

Lila Rose, founder and president of pro-life organization Live Action, also expressed her disappointment in the confirmation of Becerra.

“Knowing his history and giving Xavier Becerra even more power as the Secretary of Health and Human Services signals that the Biden administration not only wants to promote and expand the killing of preborn children, but they also want to use government as a tool to quash the active national debate on abortion and bully pro-lifers into silence,” she said. 

But both March for Life and Live Action have no plans to give into Becerra’s radical abortion policies. 

“Pro-life Americans will be keeping a close eye on Becerra’s agenda and will continue to speak out in defense of women and the unborn,” Mancini said.

Rose went further, explaining that her organization will be working hard to influence state legislators to choose life—no matter what the federal government’s agenda is. Afterall, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, it will be up to the individuals states to determine whether or not abortion would be legal. 

“While the Biden administration attempts to enforce its agenda at the federal level for the next four years, the pro-life movement will be fighting back in the states, working with pro-life legislatures to advance protections for preborn children and their mothers,” Rose said.

“We’ll also make unprecedented efforts through public education campaigns to share the truth about prenatal development and the lethal cruelty inflicted on living preborn children by legalized abortion,” she added. “Eyes are being opened every day as more and more Americans learn the facts about abortion. It’s only a matter of time before truth prevails and the American people demand the abolition of abortion.”

 
Above: Xavier Becerra testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., on February 23.

Photo: Leigh Vogel/Pool/Sipa USA/Alamy Live News