Nancy Pelosi and Democrats Block Bill to Ban Tax-Funded Abortions for 8th Time

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jun 26, 2021   |   8:42AM   |   Washington, DC

For the third day in a row, U.S. House Democrats rejected a widely-supported bill that would permanently ban taxpayer-funded abortions in Medicaid and other federal programs.

On Friday, Republican lawmakers urged Democrats to unite in support of the Hyde Amendment, a pro-life measure that received strong bipartisan support in Congress for decades.

“Unfortunately, President Biden is trying to shatter years of congressional bipartisanship with a radical budget that has no Hyde Amendment protections,” said Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Michigan. “The president ran on unity, yet his first budget proposal immediately divides.”

McClain asked for unanimous consent on the House floor to demand a vote on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (House Resolution 18), sponsored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey. However, Democrats who control the House rejected her request just as they did with similar requests Wednesday and Thursday.

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The bill would make the Hyde Amendment permanent law and protect taxpayers from being forced to fund the killing of unborn babies in abortions.

The Hyde Amendment, which has strong public support, prohibits taxpayer funding for elective abortions in Medicaid and other federal programs. Since 1976, it has saved an estimated 2.4 million babies’ lives, including about 60,000 each year, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

Rep. Ron Estes, of Kansas, pointed out that Democrat leaders’ pro-abortion demands are “radical” and out of touch with the American people.

“The left continues to push radical and unscientific policies that end the lives of unborn babies. And what’s worse, they want to pay for their abortion-on-demand policies with your tax dollars,” Estes said.

He said polls consistently show that most Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions. In January, a Marist poll found 58 percent of Americans oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions in the U.S. Additionally, 77 percent oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions in other countries.

Pro-abortion Democrats claim taxpayer-funded abortions are needed to help low-income women, but a Harvard/Politico poll found strong opposition to their plan among the very people who these politicians claim to want to help.

According to the poll, voters who make more than $75,000 were more supportive of forcing taxpayers to fund abortions (45 percent in favor), while those who make $25,000 or less were strongly against it (24 percent in favor).

Smith, the lead sponsor of the bill, quoted President Joe Biden who, up until his presidential campaign, was a supporter of the Hyde Amendment, too.

The Hyde Amendment “’protects both the woman & her unborn child… I have consistently (no fewer than 50 occasions) voted against federal funding for abortions. Those of us opposed to abortion should not be compelled to pay for them,’” Smith quoted.

He said unborn babies have been denied their rights for far too long.

“By reason of their age, dependency, maturity, convenience, fragility and unwantedness, unborn children have been denied justice,” Smith continued.

For decades, most Republican and Democrat lawmakers supported the Hyde Amendment as a regular part of the budget. However, Democrats recently abandoned the public on the issue and sided with the billion-dollar abortion industry in calling for forced taxpayer-funded abortions. Biden’s proposed 2022 budget specifically excludes the pro-life measure.

Democrats also blocked Republicans’ request to vote on the bill Wednesday and Thursday.

Research by Charlotte Lozier Institute associate scholar Dr. Michael New estimates the Hyde Amendment has saved about 2.4 million babies from abortions. Prior to the amendment, in the 1970s, Americans paid for about 300,000 unborn babies’ abortion deaths each year, according to a report from the Family Research Council.