Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick recently used Congressional resources to mail constituents a letter highlighting his right-wing policy positions. This comes weeks after anti-abortion activist Mark Houck announced a primary challenge against Fitzpatrick.
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) recently mailed a letter to constituents promoting the right-wing agenda he’s supported this legislative session. The mail piece may have caught some off guard, but comes as Fitzpatrick faces a primary challenge next year.
“I wanted to provide you with an update on the legislative initiatives that I committed to supporting at the beginning of this Congress. Below is a sampling of these initiatives, which I will continue to support and advance throughout the remainder of this Congress,” Fitzpatrick said in the letter.
One of the bills Fitzpatrick highlighted was the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which aims to spread misinformation about “late-term abortions,”—a favored term of the anti-abortion movement that distorts the reality of abortions late in pregnancy. In reality, only 1% of abortions happen after 20 weeks.
Dr. Kristyn Brandi, a board member of Physicians for Reproductive Health, told Vox in 2019 that “the bill maligns and vilifies providers and patients to push a false narrative about abortion later in pregnancy.”
Fitzpatrick also promoted his support for the Parental Bill of Rights, which would allow school parents to censor what is taught in schools or request books be banned. He further voted in favor of Congressman Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) resolution establishing the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
This mailer was sent to constituents weeks after Mark Houck announced that he would challenge Fitzpatrick in the 2024 primary.
Houck is a right-wing anti-abortion activist who was arrested for assaulting a Planned Parenthood volunteer outside of their Center City clinic last year, but was later acquitted of those charges. Houck became a popular figure in right-wing media circles because of those charges.
According to Politico, Houck told The Vortex, a YouTube based christian media outlet, that he had the support of members from the House Freedom Caucus.
“I didn’t want to run for Congress. People have been encouraging me … to consider it. I eventually could not refuse it thankfully for the influence of Reps. Jim Jordan, Chip Roy, Scott Perry, and Mike Johnson,” said Houck.
Johnson, Roy and a spokesperson for Perry denied the allegations that they were helping Houck run against Fitzpartick.
Sean Kitchen Sean Kitchen is the Keystone’s political correspondent, based in Harrisburg. Sean is originally from Philadelphia and spent five years working as a writer and researcher for Pennsylvania Spotlight.
