The following comes from a May 15 press release issued by Christian Newswire.
Today U.S. Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), co-chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), announced the introduction of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.
The legislation, which has been introduced as H.R. 7 in the House and S. 946 in the Senate, has the support of 95 cosponsors in the House and 21 in the Senate. Click here to read the text of the bill.
Congressman Smith (NJ-04) said of the bills: “More than 100 Members of Congress have joined us in introducing the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act—a government wide prohibition on taxpayer subsidization for abortion. With the recent murder convictions of Dr. Gosnell, we’ve got to encourage Americans to ask–how different really is Gosnell’s House of Horrors from abortions that occur in clinics throughout the country? Not much, not much at all,” said Smith.
“There are Kermit Gosnells all over America. Some abortionists may have cleaner sheets than Gosnell, and better sterilized equipment and better trained accomplices, but what they do—what Gosnell did is the same–kill babies and hurt women. President Obama has said he wants abortion to be rare. To Mr. Obama I say, ‘here is a bill for you.’ Even the Guttmacher Institute, the former research arm of Planned Parenthood, confirms that taxpayer funding bans are a proven abortion reduction method. According to Guttmacher, studies show that when abortion is not publically funded, abortions in the covered population are reduced by roughly 25 percent.”
Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-03) said: “The overwhelming view of Americans is their tax dollars should not be used to pay for abortions. Yet taxpayer dollars are poised to pay for abortions through the Affordable Care Act and we continue to rely on the dangerous practice of passing annual riders to carry out the desire of the American people that taxpayer-funded abortions should be prohibited,” Rep. Lipinski said. “This legislation makes perfect sense by answering to the public’s wishes, making longtime federal policy permanent law and protecting innocent life that deserves to be protected.”
Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) said: “The sanctity of human life for all, including the unborn, is deeply rooted in my beliefs and reflected in American values. For more than 30 years, Congress has enacted annual provisions in appropriations bills to make certain American taxpayers are not funding abortions. It is past time for a single, government-wide prohibition on abortion funding. This legislation accomplishes that goal by establishing a comprehensive policy prohibiting public funding for abortion in all federal programs. This approach will reduce the need for separate abortion funding policies and ensure that no federal program is exempt from this prohibition.”
The “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” will eliminate the need for numerous, separate, annual abortion funding prohibitions (called riders) and ensure that no other program or agency is exempt from this important safeguard.
The bill would make permanent the policies that currently rely on regular re-approval, including amendments like the well known Hyde Amendment, which prohibits funding for elective abortion coverage through any program funded through the annual Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act. It also would make permanent other existing laws, such as: the Helms amendment (which prohibits funding for abortion as a method of family planning overseas); the Smith FEHBP amendment (which prohibits funding for elective abortion coverage for federal employees); the Dornan amendment, (which prohibits use of congressionally appropriated funds for abortion in the District of Columbia), and; other policies governing programs, such as federal prisons.
To read original release, click here.
Well we hope that whatever we do that it leads towards ending abortion and starting with no taxes used for abortions is great. I don’t like our hard earned taxes to be used on immoral stuff…especially on the murdering of the unborn…I don’t want that at all…God help us. But Mr. Obama is not honest so good luck.
We should all write to our US House and Senate Representative to support the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” H.R. 7 in the House and S. 946 in the Senate asap.
This is important even if they support abortion, so they will know that there is a strong constituency who believes in the sanctity of life.
We should also send them a link to the scientific medical web site: “Endowment for Human Development” – so they can see the innocent baby at various stages.
We must forward a link to this article to our Diocese Bishop so he can support it himself and in each of his Parishes, and through the Bishops’ Conferences that he belongs to.
This is a civil rights issue – the right to life.
It is also a First Amendment right – so that as taxpayers we are not forced to use our tax dollars to kill innocent human beings, in violation of our Religion.
Does the First Amendment protect us from being forced to pay for drone strikes that kill innocent human beings, in violation of our Religion? Like in the discussion between God and Abaraham regarding righteous people who might be in Sodom, Genesis 18:32: “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”
Friends, let us not get bogged down in constitutional quibbling. Abortion is murder, no matter who pays the abortionist. Drone strikes save the lives of soldiers who would otherwise be sent into deadly combat with enemies who have no scruples when it comes to killing infidels. They will sacrifice their own children for that purpose. One can disagree on methods and tactics of warfare. Abortion is not negociable. It is always an intrinsic evil.
Anton:
I’m not questioning whether abortion is a serious social evil. I’m questioning MIKE’s assertion that the 1st Amendment protects us from paying for abortion. In case it isn’t already obvious: I don’t think the 1st Amendment gives any protection from paying taxes that support policies we find abhorrent.
I completely agree that we ought “not get bogged down in constitutional quibbling.” I do think, however, we should get facts straight: Even under the current patchwork approach, there is no direct taxpayer funding for abortions, drone strikes kill far more civilians than terrorists or combatants, and there is zero evidence anywhere that a majority of Taliban fighters are any more willing to sacrifice their own children for their cause than you are.
This is a very important bill. Everyone please contact your federal officials asap.
If decent people are ever able to take back this Country, it will be one step at a time, with lots of prayers, and some good elected officials like Chris Smith.
Supporting these bills asap must be done !
Leaving it up to individual states, whether they want to fund abortions with their own money under their state medical assistance plans, is a very interesting and creative feature of the bill. My guess is that there’s no way the Pro-Choice lobby would accept that, since they would have to campaign state-by-state for such coverage, and there are some states where their chances of succeeding are weak.
On the other hand, if wishes were ponies and politicians actually wanted to work for the good of the people they “serve,” imagine what would happen if even a reasonable compromise bill became law: The US abortion rate, rather than being 2-3 times that of Western Europe, would be only 1.5-2.3 times as high. Federal funding of abortion would no longer be a political issue, and the political right would no longer use it to rally their side; they’d have to find other more difficult causes instead, like cutting real waste in administrative and “defense” spending. The left would have to stop trying to “protect abortion rights” and might have to concentrate on real accomplishment, like building a balanced economy that generates opportunities for everyone, helping ordinary workers form labor unions that actually protect their interests, and developing a health care system that actually sustains health in a rational way.
It would be a different world, and I doubt that many of today’s politicians would like it.
Francis – in the USA there is nothing more serious (“difficult”) than ABORTION.
The main cancers in our society that technically could be excised by legislation are: Abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, and same-sex marriage.
However I fully support the Church teachings of “SUBSIDIARITY” and “COMMUTATIVE JUSTICE”.
CCC – subsidiarity – 1883, 1885, 1894, 2209.
CCC – commutative justice – “without which no other form of justice is possible” -2411.
Why the USCCB and Bishops California Catholic Conference are not actively teaching these required principles is indeed strange.
Government at all levels – Federal, State, and Local must stop waste, get rid of all unnecessary spending, and rid itself of unnecessary employees (because they are an unnecessary expense). They must pay their bills.
Federal Debt which has grown exponentially under Obama is approx.:
$16, 828, 546, 398, 943 .00
CA State Debt is approx.: $407, 339, 291 ,823 .00
Governments can not help others when they can not even pay their own debts.
(The USA is no longer a prosperous nation, and it has not regained it’s AAA credit rating which was for the first time in history downgraded in 2011.
California has the worst credit rating of any state now and the nation’s worst credit rating record over the past 11 years, according to a new nationwide compilation by the Pew Center on the States.
Credit ratings show financial health.)
Rather than people (and some Bishops) standing with their hands out to the Government – and asking for more and more spending, they should demand that the governments pay their bills.
I’m all for it, and Congressman Chris Smith is a great congressman. And also Congressman Smith is proof that there IS more than a dime’s woth of difference between the Repub’s and the demoncrats. (but i never get why pro-life democratic representatives like Lipinski continue to reside in such a reprehensible political party) Now the whole concept of ANY taxpaying American having to subsidize P.P. is absolutely infuriating! Is there an American alive who DOESN’T KNOW what P.P. is doing to america? If so, their voting rights should be terminated. If you’re not informed enough to know how EVIL P.P. is, you’re too dumb to be voting. There should be tests for all voters in any case. Just common sense. For the “low information” voter: Planned Parenthood is an organization partially founded by the great American racist, eugenicist, anti-Catholic and far-left bigot known as Margaret Sanger. It may have had fairly benign beginnings back in the day, but in 2013 and for the preceding forty-odd years, it’s had the go-to reputation of being the org. who’ll do a hit-job on innocent preborn humans for a price. Kind of like the mafia org. known as “Murder Incorporated.” But far worse in terms of the amounts of massacred innocents P.P. has generated. Once again, just WHY do Americans have to subsidize through taxes such a luciferian Amerikan org.? Because Pres. Obummer believes it’s the only “FAIR” thing to do for “poor” Americans? Really? Just one more reason among the rapidly snowballing reasons why OBAMA MUST GO! IMPEACH HIM IMMEDIATELY! Please write your various congresspersons that you as an American DEMAND that Obama be impeached! HE’S A HAZARD TO OUR COLLECTIVE HEALTH AS U.S. CITIZENS. VIVA CRISTO REY! And God bless all, Markrite
Congressman Lipinski is indeed a lost soul in the party of death. I cannot fathom what still ties him to the democrat party. Harry Truman is dead. We must neverleless appreciate his efforts and applaud his courage and steadfastness. I am more dismayed that six out of ten ordinary Catholics support this avowedly anti-life and anti-God political party. That I do not grasp…
We each have an OBLIGATION to review the public Voting Record, public Statements, and public behavior of each candidate – prior to voting.
We can not vote “party”. Although a minority at this time, there are some Republicans who support abortion.
We must accurately discern.
Regarding our voting responsibility on the net see: “Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion, General Principles” 2004 by Cardinal Ratzinger. (And remember there is nothing proportionate in the USA to the murder of approx. 1 Million INNOCENT babies each years.)
10 The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your [children’s] blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your [children’s] blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Word of the Lord!