Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) filed the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," which would permanently prohibit taxpayer funding of abortion in every federal program and establish as permanent many of the pro-life policies currently relying on regular congressional re-approval.
-- From "House bill would ban federal abortion funding" by Mike Lillis, The Hill 7/29/10
While a 24-year-old law — dubbed the Hyde Amendment — already ensures taxpayers don’t subsidize abortions under Medicaid and all other federal health programs, the law is temporary, forcing Congress to pass it each year as a rider to broader spending bills.
The Smith/Lipinski bill [HR 5939] would permanently solidify the funding ban across all federal agencies.
“Congress can act now and fix this problem once and for all,” Charmaine Yoest, head of Americans United for Life Action, said in a statement endorsing the bill.
The legislation arrives as lawmakers joust over the possibility that newly created high-risk pools — established by the new healthcare reform law — could cover elective abortions.
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From "'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act' Introduced" by James Tillman, LifeSiteNews.com 7/30/10
The proposed legislation would make permanent the Hyde amendment, which prohibits the funding of elective abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the life of the mother, through any program funded by the annual Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Act.
The bill would also make permanent the Helms amendment, the Smith FEHBP amendment, and the Dornan amendment, which respectively prohibit the funding of abortion overseas, the funding of elective abortion coverage for federal employees, and the use of congressionally appropriated funds for abortion in the District of Columbia.
In addition to banning abortion funding, the bill would also codify the Hyde-Weldon conscience clause within the Hyde amendment. This ensures that recipients of federal funding do not discriminate against health care providers because they do not provide or facilitate abortions.
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