While hundreds of thousands of pro-life supporters marched through the streets of the nation’s Capital yesterday, the U.S. House passed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act which will permanently ban the use of taxpayer funds for abortion.
The Family Research Council (FRC) is reporting that the Act, known as H.R.7, passed mainly along party lines by a vote of 242-179. Only one Republican, Rep. Richard Hanna of New York, voted against the measure. Three Democrats voted in favor of the bill – Rep. Dan Lapinski (D-IL), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Rep. Colin Peterson (D-MN).
Although many people believe H.R. 7 isn’t needed because we have the Hyde Amendment which prevents taxpayer funding of abortion in federal appropriations bills, this Amendment has to be reauthorized every year in order to stay in effect.
“The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would save Congress from that annual fight and political horse-trading that takes place just to keep taxpayers mostly out of the abortion business,” the FRC reports. “H.R. 7 will create a permanent, government-wide ban on abortion funding — not just for health care bills, but also for overseas aid, and anything else that Congress subsidizes.”
This includes all of the new programs created by Obamacare.
As the National Right to Life Committee explained in a letter sent to members of Congress, “Under H.R. 7, for plan years beginning after December 31, 2015, exchange-participating health plans that cover abortion would not be eligible for the federal subsidies. Until then, the bill will revise Obamacare language to eliminate secrecy about abortion coverage, allowing consumers to be fully informed about abortion coverage and the surcharges for such coverage on plans sold on the exchanges.”
This is not the first time around for the bill. The House has passed it several times in the last few years but a Democratic-controlled Senate precluded any possibility of a vote. Now that pro-life Senators are in the majority, it is expected to pass the upper chamber and head to the president’s desk.
Unfortunately, he is already threatening a veto. “The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 7,” the Administration said in a statement. “The legislation would intrude on women’s reproductive freedom and access to health care; increase the financial burden on many Americans; unnecessarily restrict the private insurance choices that consumers have today; and restrict the District of Columbia’s use of local funds, which undermines home rule. . . . If the President were presented with H.R. 7, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto this bill.”
Even though pro-life members of Congress were hoping to pass the Pain Capable Infant Protection Act yesterday, it was derailed at the last minute by members who were concerned about some of the language in the bill, particularly a requirement that the rape exception can only be claimed if the crime was reported. Lawmakers plan to rework the bill and present it again in the future. If passed, it would ban all abortions after 20 weeks.
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