In the state where I live, Nebraska, this is apparently a policy position loudly and proudly espoused by a pro-life politician who is supported by a pro-life electorate:

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman says he’s strongly opposed to a bill that would restore prenatal care coverage for illegal immigrants.

The Republican governor said in a statement Tuesday that he objected to the use of taxpayer money for benefits that would go toward illegal immigrants.

Lawmakers are set to begin first-round debate on a measure that would reinstate coverage to the unborn children of mothers who were deemed ineligible for Medicaid. It also would cover women in prison.

With this in mind, I think there must be two problems:

1. Our elected officials are morally-bankrupt, opportunistic liars who will say anything in order to capitalize on the stated beliefs of the people;
2. Very, very few people are consistently pro-life.

Of course, if Governor Heineman can make statements in opposition to prenatal care without fearing the political consequences in a staunchly pro-life state, this means that people either hate undocumented immigrants more than they care about protecting and nurturing human life, somehow believe that the fetuses are blame-worthy for the crimes committed by their mothers, simply don’t understand what prenatal care means, or just don’t care.

At bottom, this is why people who identify as pro-choice tend to be dismissive of pro-life arguments; they seem only to be trotted out sometimes, not on all issues that are clearly pro-life issues. If pro-life advocates don’t stand for the sanctity of human life when the fetuses are inside undocumented immigrants or once a person has committed a crime, why should we listen seriously to arguments made by these same pro-life advocates when it comes to abortion or contraception?