Senate Leader Files "Prevention First" Bill Sending Millions to Abortion Industry
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 9, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — On the first day of the new session of Congress, the leader of the Senate filed a bill that sends millions of dollars to the nation’s largest abortion business. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is the lead sponsor of the pro-abortion Prevention First Act, S. 21, that will be strongly opposed by pro-life groups.
The bill would prohibit health insurance plans from excluding coverage for birth control drugs and devices.
It would also require the federal Health Department to provide information on the morning after pill to all health care providers. Hospitals that receive any federal funds would be forced to give out the drug, which can sometimes cause an abortion, to women who have been raped.
But it is the bailout of the abortion industry that most concerns Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council.
"Reid sent a very clear message about what pro-lifers can expect from the next two years by introducing [the bill]," Perkins told LifeNews.com. "The Prevention First Act would direct hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to the abortion industry, a business that already receives over $286 million each year from federal taxpayers."
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business and the likely recipient of the bulk of the funding, praised the introduction of the bill in a press release.
Perkins said that didn’t come as a surprise to him.
"The abortion merchant will likely be the largest beneficiary of Reid’s abortion bailout," he said.
The Family Research Council is also concerned about the morning after pill portion of the bill and Perkins said the measure would mislead women about the drug without warning them that it has the potential to cause an abortion in some circumstances if taken after conception has occurred.
Perkins is also upset that the bill promotes the drug to women who have been victims of sexual assault without providing them with tangible help.
"It also encourages the use of Plan B for victims of sexual assault yet has no reporting requirement in place for young girls who may have been victims of abuse or rape," he said.
He also bashed the measure for having no parental involvement in it and leaving parents in the dark when their teenager daughters get the Plan B drug.
"When you get right down to it, the bill does nothing to support parental involvement–let alone consent–for dispensing the morning after pill and other contraception to minors," Perkins lamented.
With Democratic control of the Senate and an abortion advocate in the White House, the bill has the chance to go far and it may be the only way to defeat it is by pro-life lawmakers filibustering the measure and finding 40 votes to maintain the filibuster.
ACTION: Contact members of the Senate at https://www.senate.gov and urge strong opposition to the Prevention First Act.
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