Senate Fails to Defund Abortion

Late Thursday, on the eve of the March for Life, the Senate failed to pass the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2019."

After Majority Leader McConnell invoked cloture on the bill, pro-abortion Democrats united to filibuster the bill preventing an up or down vote. Pro-life Democrat Senators Bob Casey (PA) and Joe Manchin (WV) voted for the funding ban, while pro-abortion Republican Senators Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) voted against the measure.

 

The "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2019" would have established a permanent, government-wide prohibition of taxpayer funding for abortion. Similar policies, such as the Hyde Amendment, currently require annual

reauthorization and do not apply to ObamaCare.

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined cosponsors Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Pat Roberts (R-KS) in proposing the bill:

"Regardless of Americans' beliefs on the issue of life, one thing remains clear: the federal government does not need to help fund abortions. No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act ensures that Americans who strongly disagree with abortions are not forced to pay for them with their federal tax dollars. We must continue to take steps to move our nation and our culture closer to holding all human lives sacred regardless of a person's size or degree of dependency. This bill brings us closer to that goal."

In floor remarks, Senator Wicker cited studies indicating a shift in America's thoughts on abortion and taxpayer funding: "As each year passes, as more and more parents see that sonogram. we see the feet, and we see the heartbeat. We see the faces of these children. We realize as Americans. that this is a living human that deserves protection."

The legislation also includes a provision championed by Senator Roberts requiring that all plans offered by Obamacare exchanges disclose whether a plan includes coverage of elective abortion procedures, as well as the abortion surcharge embedded into abortion-covering plans. Abortion equals big profit for the infanticide industry.

The results of this vote are shameful. Pro-life Americans should be repulsed that there would be any consideration by our government officials to use taxpayer dollars to fund an abhorrent baby-killing practice!

 

The Senate has repeatedly failed to pass pro-life bills because some of our tin-eared lawmakers are beholden to abortion giants like Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America. These lawmakers are only hearing the loudest pro-death voices. It's time to get our lawmakers hearing the other side of the debate or to vote them out of office.

Source: Liberty Council email 1/19/19.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader