This article first appeared online at The Hill on January 5, 2011.
Anti-abortion groups mobilize for fight over healthcare reform
By Julian Pecquet
Anti-abortion groups are gearing up to the ensure that Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) lives up to his campaign promise to be the most pro-life Speaker in history.
The Susan B. Anthony List on Wednesday announced that it is mobilizing its 280,000 grassroots activists to pressure lawmakers to vote for repeal when it comes up for a House vote next Wednesday. The organization is also pressing the 112th Congress to pass two of its legislative priorities.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, introduced in July by Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), would create a government-wide statutory prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion. Abortion opponents say the legislation is needed to ensure the healthcare reform law can’t cover the cost of abortions.
SBA’s other priority is the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, introduced two years ago by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.). The bill seeks to ensure that tax dollars are not sent to abortion providers under Title X family-planning grants.
Separately, Americans United for Life President and CEO Charmaine Yoest is attending Boehner’s swearing in.
“I predict that we will see changes in President Obama’s pro-abortion health care plan and in other pro-life measures as a result of pro-life leadership taking their places in Washington, D.C. today,” Yoest said in a statement.
In addition to its federal lobbying, AUL has drafted 38 model bills for state legislators to adopt. They focus on abortion, protection of the unborn, bioethics, end of life issues and rights of conscience for healthcare providers.
