Senate Democrats confirm controversial Levine as health secretary

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Rachel Levine as assistant secretary of health. Levine, a pro-abortion activist, is also the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation.

Pro-abortion Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats supporting Levine.

Levine served as Pennsylvania’s controversial top health official since 2017, and faced criticism there from both Democrats and Republicans for the state’s catastrophic response to the coronavirus pandemic. Levine will now oversee Health and Human Services offices and programs across the U.S.

In Pennsylvania, Levine mismanaged the pandemic last year instituting an order that required nursing homes and other assisted care facilities to admit COVID-19 patients. Like its neighbor New York, Pennsylvania’s order put Covid positive patients in facilities with those most at risk of death from the virus, the elderly and people with disabilities.

Furor erupted after state news outlets discovered that Levine had moved her own 95-year-old mother out of a personal care home just as the order took effect. Some lawmakers demanded that Levine resign, citing a massive coronavirus outbreak in nursing homes following the order.

After the vote, March for Life Action tweeted about Levine’s connection to Covid deaths in Pennsylvania nursing homes.

“52 US Senators just voted for someone who knowingly risked the lives of Pennsylvanian elderly, leading to 1000s of deaths, while protecting their own parent,” it said. “Levine also opposed all prolife efforts in PA, and was an abortion industry lackey.”

Levine, who is a biological male and identifies as a woman, is expected to push radical pro-abortion policies to expand including what are considered unsafe abortion-inducing drugs and taxpayer-funded abortions up until birth.

The topic of gender dysphoria came up during the hearings when Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul questioned Levine. “Genital mutilation has been nearly universally condemned.” Paul said, “Dr. Levine, do you believe that minors are capable of making such a life-changing decision as changing one’s sex?” The question caught Levine off guard.

Family Research Council Action described Levine as an “extreme,” ideology-driven politician who puts “partisan politics over public health.” It is urging senators to vote no on his confirmation.

Noting Levine’s positions on abortion, the pro-life group said Levine is “out of touch with the vast majority of Americans” and “an unfit choice to help lead HHS.”

Abortion facility inspections

Pro-life leaders in Pennsylvania accuse Levine of putting women’s health at risk by stopping inspecting abortion facilities during the pandemic. They warned of the horrors that Pennsylvania witnessed a decade ago with Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell after the state stopped inspecting abortion facilities.

Levine is just one of a growing list of pro-abortion health officials Biden chose to lead the nation’s public health policies. Others include:

• California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Vivek Murthy as surgeon general

• Francis Collins as director of the National Institutes of Health

–Metro Voice and LifeNews.com