The House passed two large spending bills December 17 that were stripped of pro-abortion language, ultimately satisfying pro-life advocates.

“This should never have been a problem in the first place. The main reason it was, was because the Republicans allowed it to get into the underlying bill,” Tom McClusky, president of March for Life Action, told CNA of pro-abortion language that was pulled from legislation funding government agencies for 2020.

The bills—the House-amended Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 and Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020—passed by votes of 297 to 120, and 280 to 138, respectively, before the House readies to vote on articles of impeachment of President Trump on Wednesday.

The amendment by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) increased international family planning assistance and reinstated funding for the UN’s Population Fund (UNFPA). The Trump administration has declined to fund the UNFPA for three years because of its partnership with the Chinese government’s family planning program, which the administration says is complicit in forced abortions and sterilizations.

Shaheen’s amendment would have also provided a mechanism to enforce an Obama-era USAID policy, that would have been used to discriminate against religious organizations and other NGOs that don’t provide abortions or contraceptives when USAID chooses its contracting partners for international assistance.

Full story at Catholic News Agency.