| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 16, 2019 |
CONTACT: Mallory Quigley [email protected] | 202-223-8073 |
McConnell Files Cloture on Bill to End Taxpayer Funding of Abortion as House Dems State Intent to FORCE Taxpayers to Pay for Abortions at Home and Abroad
Washington, D.C. – This afternoon Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture on the motion to proceed to the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2019 (S. 109), setting the stage for a cloture vote this week. This would be the first time the bill has received a vote in the U.S. Senate. Co-sponsored by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), and Pat Roberts (R-KS), the legislation establishes a permanent, government-wide prohibition on federal funding for abortion, prohibits federal subsidies in the form of Obamacare tax credits for health plans that include abortion, and strengthens disclosure requirements for plans that include abortion.
The national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) released the following statement in response:
“The Pelosi-led pro-abortion House has made clear they will try to force taxpayers to pay for abortions by repealing the Hyde Amendment,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “By voting on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the pro-life majority in the Senate is showing they’ll be a brick wall when it comes to trying to force taxpayers to pay for abortion on demand.
“A strong majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion. The Hyde Amendment has saved over two million lives since 1976. If pro-abortion politicians had their way, these millions of Americans and future generations would not be walking around. We are grateful to Leader McConnell and the pro-life Senate majority for standing strong with the majority of Americans who reject taxpayer funding of abortion.”
McConnell’s motion comes as House Democrats have vowed to repeal the Hyde Amendment, longstanding federal policy that prevents taxpayer funding of abortion on demand. On the first day of the new Congress, House Democrats also acted to undo President Trump’s Global Protect Life Policy which prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to support foreign groups that perform or promote abortion overseas. Marist polling released yesterday reveals most Americans (54 percent) oppose taxpayer funding of abortion at home and 75 percent oppose using taxpayer dollars to fund abortion abroad, including 80 percent of Independents, 56 percent of Democrats, and 64 percent of people who call themselves pro-choice.
SBA List is a network of more than 700,000 pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
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