HR 3 OK’ed by House
Judiciary Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. –The powerful House Judiciary committee today
approved the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” H.R. 3,
23-14, which will permanently prohibit taxpayer funding of
abortion across all federal programs.
The bipartisan bill has
209 cosponsors and will reduce the need for numerous separate
policies to prevent government funding for abortion.
Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), the author of the bill and co-chairman
of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, was grateful to
the committee for its support and quick action.
“I want to thank my good friend, Congressman Trent Franks
(AZ-02) for his leadership on the Judiciary Committee and his
unwavering defense of the right to life for all human beings,”
Smith said. “I also thank Chairman Lamar Smith and my colleagues
on the Judiciary Committee for their strong support of this
important bill which will ensure that taxpayers are not
complicit in paying for the taking of innocent human life.”
“Abortion is not health care. And polls show that taxpayers
strongly oppose publicly funded abortion—67 percent according to
a recent Quinnipiac University poll,” Smith said. “Our new bill
is designed to permanently end any U.S. government financial
support for abortion whether it be direct funding or by tax
credits or any other subsidy.”
“President Obama has said he wants abortion to be rare,” Smith
said. “Well, Mr. Obama, here is a bill for you. Even the
Guttmacher Institute, the former research arm of Planned
Parenthood, says that taxpayer funding bans are a proven
abortion reduction method. According to Guttmacher, studies show
that when abortion is not publicly funded, abortions in the
covered population are reduced by roughly 25 percent.”
As reported from the Judiciary Committee, the Smith bill will
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 such as the restrictions on elective
abortion funding through Peace Corps and Federal prisons.
The bill also codifies the Hyde-Weldon conscience clause that is
part of the Hyde amendment. The conscience clause ensures that
recipients of federal funding do not discriminate against health
care providers, including doctors, nurses and hospitals, because
the providers do not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or
refer for abortions.
“The conscience clause is a critical part of the law which
protects health care providers who do not want to take part in
the abortion business,” Smith said. “Without it, people could be
forced to participate in something they strongly believe to be
morally wrong. Without it, faith-based hospitals could lose
funding.”
Not one of the amendments offered by pro-abortion members was
accepted by the committee.
“There is nothing whatsoever benign or caring or generous or
just or compassionate or nurturing about abortion,” said Smith.
“Abortion dismembers children piece-by-piece. Americans do not
want to pay for the killing of unborn children and the wounding
of their mothers.”
Part One
Part Two |
