118th Congress Whip Thune has stood up against the extremist nominees of the pro-abortion Biden-Harris administration and against pro-abortion action both in the administration and through legislation advanced by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Whip Thune has voted consistently to defend the lives of the unborn and infants. This includes stopping hard-earned tax dollars from paying for abortion, including abortion travel expenses, whether domestically or internationally, and pushing back on the administration’s extreme executive actions on abortion.

Whip Thune introduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S. 204), which would require health care practitioners to provide the same degree of care to a child born alive following an abortion attempt as would be provided to any other child born at the same gestational age. He spoke multiple times on the Senate floor highlighting the importance of his bill and calling out the extremism of Democrats, who oppose protecting babies even after they are born. Whip Thune spoke on the Senate floor about the radical pro-abortion legislation championed by Senate Democrats. He gave a speech near the 2023 March for Life, celebrating the Supreme Court's landmark decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case and advocating for federal protections for unborn children. He also spoke on the floor about the numerous Biden-Harris nominees who are pro-abortion extremists. He called out the Biden-Harris administration's Department of Veterans Affairs for illegally using taxpayer dollars to provide abortions.

Whip Thune sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, calling out the Biden-Harris administration’s illegal and immoral abortion travel policy and asking the department to clarify how they will ensure conscience protections for their employees. Whip Thune gave a speech on the Senate floor advocating for the passage of his Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. In another speech on the Senate floor, Whip Thune called out Democrats for supporting the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act that would codify abortion on-demand at any point during pregnancy. He also spoke on the floor about the Biden-Harris administration’s rule that forces Americans to fund and Veterans Affairs hospitals to illegally provide abortions. He also called out the Biden-Harris administration for advocating for the removal of longstanding protections against taxpayer funding of abortion. To celebrate the March for Life, Sen. Thune gave a passionate speech on the Senate floor on the Senate floor in defense of unborn lives.

117th Congress
Senator Thune has stood up against extremist nominees of the pro-abortion Biden-Harris administration, against pro-abortion action both in the administration and through legislation advanced by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Sen. Thune has voted consistently to defend the lives of the unborn and infants. This includes stopping hard-earned tax dollars from paying for abortion, whether domestically or internationally, and protecting health care provider rights for those who refuse to engage in brutal abortions.

Senator Thune introduced an amendment to H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act, to exclude health plans covering abortions from the premium tax credit. During a confirmation hearing for secretary of Health and Human Services, he also pressed nominee Xavier Becerra on the necessity of the Hyde Amendment, which Becerra opposes. Sen. Thune gave a speech defending life during a Senate press conference on the eve of oral arguments in the Dobbs Supreme Court case and another denouncing the Women's Health Protection Act (better described as the Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act). The Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs gave the authority to enact limits on abortion to both state and federal lawmakers. Sen. Thune is among a select group of courageous Members of Congress who quickly accepted their responsibility to protect unborn children nationally by cosponsoring the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act in the fall of 2022.

116th Congress
Senator Thune has voted consistently to protect the lives of unborn babies and infants as well as the consciences of taxpayers who don’t want their hard-earned tax dollars paying for abortion domestically or internationally. While the pro-abortion majority in the U.S. House of Representatives continually sends the Senate bills that roll back pro-life protections, the Senate has made it their priority to confirm judges and justices who will respect the constitution and leave legislating to the legislative branch.

Senator Thune participated in debate on the Senate floor in favor of S. 311, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act and S. 3275, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.