WASHINGTON – The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the nationwide federation of state right-to-life organizations, applauded the introduction today, in the U.S. House of Representatives, of two major bills intended to repair and strengthen barriers to federal subsides for abortion.
One bill, the Protect Life Act, is sponsored by Congressman Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), who recently was named chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This bill would rewrite multiple provisions of the 2010 health care law (Public Law 111-148) in order to prohibit federal subsidies for abortion, and federal regulations that could expand abortion in various ways. The bill is modeled after the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which was approved by the House of Representatives on November 7, 2009, but which President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders succeeded in keeping out of the health care law that was finally enacted. The provisions of the health care law that authorize funding of abortion and health plans that cover abortion are described in detail in an NRLC affidavit posted here: (link)
The second bill, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3), is sponsored by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Dan Lipinski (D-Il.), who are the co-chairs of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. This legislation would establish a permanent, government-wide prohibition on federal subsidies for abortion and for health plans that cover abortion (with narrow exceptions). This uniform policy would supersede the patchwork of abortion-related limitations that have been applied to various federal programs over the past 35 years and more – many of which require annual renewal to remain in effect.
“Public opinion is strongly against federal subsidies for abortion, and any member of Congress who is truly opposed to federal funding of abortion will vote for both of these bills,” said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. “If President Obama seeks to obstruct these bills, that will provide additional glaring evidence that his professions of opposition to public funding of abortion are phony.”
The National Right to Life Committee NRLC, the federation of 50 state right-to-life organizations and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide, is the nation’s largest pro-life group. National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect those threatened by abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted suicide.
