Congress Continues to Fight for Babies
June 23, 2023 | Washington, D.C.
by Eagle Forum Executive Director, Tabitha Walter
House and Senate Advocate for Pro-Life Policies in Key Bills
Saturday marks one year of a post-Roe America! On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that Roe v. Wade was overruled and that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to destroy innocent human life. The 6-3 decision sent the issue of abortion back to the American people and their elected representatives. The radical pro-abortion Left continues to fight for unrestricted, taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand until birth, but now, pro-life forces have the ability to enact real protections. On the heels of Dobbs’ first anniversary, House and Senate Republicans are continuing the fight to protect life.
The Left has grown increasingly radical on abortion. For two years in a row, before the Dobbs decision was issued, the House of Representatives passed the most extreme abortion legislation ironically called the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), and denied Hyde amendment language (that prevents taxpayer funding of abortion) in key bills. Even now, House Democrats are trying to force a floor vote by instituting a discharge petition on the WHPA, but they lack the votes they need to proceed.
Currently, the House is waiting to take up the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R. 7). Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (R-OK) sent a memo to his colleagues outlining the history of bi-partisan support for the Hyde amendment across the nation and encouraging support for this bill. He stated:
“H.R. 7 should be enacted and conservatives should stand together to support 45 years of bi-partisan precedent and commonsense conscience protections for taxpayers, or risk reversing the unanimous position of the previous House Republican majority and setting the table for national taxpayer funding for the Democrats’ increasingly radical abortion policies.”
At the same time, pro-life Congressmen are finding ways to defend the preborn in “must-pass” bills. House Republicans released their full appropriations package to fund the government and included many pro-life policies. The bill contains prohibitions on federal funding of abortions through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. It also continues to prohibit the District of Columbia from funding abortion and requires D.C. to guarantee conscious protections for abortions and contraceptives.
This week, both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are marking up the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 or NDAA (H.R. 2670). The NDAA is one of several ‘must-pass’ bills that Congress has to enact each year. Because of the Pentagon’s recent unprecedented actions to provide abortions for nearly any reason and pay for individuals to travel out of state to obtain abortions, we expect abortion to be an important issue in this bill. However, House Republicans have decided to wait until the amendment process on the floor to tackle this topic.
The biggest showdown on the Pentagon’s abortion policies is still occurrring in the Senate. For months, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has refused to allow the Senate to approve hundreds of military promotions until the Department of Defense repeals their outrageous pro-abortion policies. He has put a ‘hold’ on any and all promotions and we thank him for his courage and determination. Instead of addressing abortion in the NDAA in an attempt to keep the bill “clean,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) is allowing a separate committee vote on a bill by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) (S. 822) to restrict the Department of Defense from using funds to pay for abortions with the exceptions of rape, incest, and the life of the mother. Ernst was hoping that this could be an offering to get Tuberville to lift his holds. Sadly, this is nothing more than a political ploy because the bill will likely fail in committee and never make it to a floor vote. Senator Tuberville and other pro-lifers are not giving in. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) stated:
“The decision to markup an abortion measure on a parallel track to the NDAA is unprecedented. It ignores the will of this committee and is designed to ensure that the Pentagon can continue to use taxpayer funding to facilitate elective abortions. The good working order and bipartisan tradition of the Senate Armed Services Committee are not well served by this tactic. During the most dangerous national security moment since World War II, we should be focused on completing a strong NDAA that delivers the warfighting capabilities our troops need to deter China and Russia.”
On Tuesday, Eagle Forum President Kris Ullman and Executive Director Tabitha Walter joined pro-life Congressmen and Senators for a rally in celebration of life. While we applaud the states that have enacted strong pro-life policies since the Dobbs decision, we know that our work is not over. To learn how to make a difference in your state or on the federal level, check out Eagle Forum’s pro-life toolkit.