The House of Representatives has voted to ban federal tax dollars from funding abortions in perpetuity.
The bill, the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act, codifies the Hyde Amendment–which prohibits Medicaid funds from being used for abortions–into permanent federal law. It also prohibits abortions from being funded under Obamacare.
However, the bill provides exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.
Many Democrats, as they are wont to do when people dare fight back against their precious abortion lobby, went apoplectic over the legislation and falsely claimed that no taxpayer money went to abortions under Obamacare. But as Claire Chetien of LifeSiteNews noted:
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 1,036 of Obamacare plans sold in 2014 included abortion on demand. Other Obamacare plans lack transparency on their abortion funding.
Other objections raised by Democrats included defenses of Planned Parenthood, a barbaric organization that slaughters unborn babies and sells their baby parts for profit, and that the recent Women’s March reflected public discontent with the bill. But the latter complaint contradicts a Marist poll that 61 percent of Americans are opposed to using their tax dollars to fund abortions.
Despite the Democrats’ objections, the bill passed by a 238-183. Three Democrats defected from the party line to vote for the law.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who wrote the bill, stated, “That’s what we should be all about. Life affirming and the saving of human life.”
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan declared the new Congress as “a pro-life Congress” in a statement.
“As hundreds of thousands of Americans flock to Washington for the March for Life, we must never forget that defending all of our people — especially the defenseless — must be our top priority if we want to be a good and moral nation,” Ryan said.
President Donald Trump has signaled that he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
“That’s what we should be all about. Life affirming and the saving of human life.”
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
“This bill would continue to prohibit the Federal government from paying for affected procedures with the taxes of Americans who find abortion morally or religiously objectionable,” the White House said in a statement.
Trump himself revived the “Mexico City Policy” of prohibiting federal funding of abortions overseas. Should he sign this bill into law, Trump will help ease concerns of those who were skeptical of his pro-life stance.
Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter @bandlersbanter.