Senator Files Bill to Stop Joe Biden From Funding Abortions for Illegal Immigrants

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Aug 17, 2022   |   12:18PM   |   Washington, DC

Senate Republicans, led by a pro-life OB-GYN, introduced legislation this month to stop the Biden administration from using tax dollars to fund elective abortions for illegal immigrants.

Townhall reports U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican and OB-GYN, is the lead sponsor of the No Taxpayer Funds for Illegal Alien Abortions Act.

“No American’s tax dollars should pay for any illegal alien’s abortion, just like they should not pay for any American citizen’s abortion,” Marshall told Townhall.

Despite the Hyde Amendment and other bans on taxpayer-funded abortions, the Biden administration has been transporting pregnant illegal immigrants from pro-life states like Texas to other states for abortions at taxpayers’ expense.

Marshall’s legislation would prohibit employees and contractors under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from transporting illegal immigrants across state lines for elective abortions and prohibit funding for abortions, according to the report. Exceptions would be allowed for cases of rape, incest or threats to the mother’s life.

Polls consistently show that Americans oppose their tax dollars being used to abort unborn babies, and U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Mississippi, said the Biden administration’s recent actions must be stopped.

LifeNews is on TruthSocial. Please follow us here.

“The Biden administration’s willingness to act outside the law makes this legislation necessary,” said Hyde-Smith, a co-sponsor of the bill. “The Hyde Amendment restricts the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. Whether it be ICE personnel or any other executive branch employee, spending American tax dollars to escort illegal immigrants across state lines for abortions is a clear violation of the law. It must be stopped.”

Other co-sponsors include U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, of Tennessee; Mike Braun, of Indiana; Steve Daines, of Montana; James Inhofe and James Lankford, both of Oklahoma; Mike Lee, of Utah; Rick Scott, of Florida; and Roger Wicker, of Mississippi.

Scott slammed the Biden administration for using Americans’ money to fund abortion travel, calling it a “gross misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

“Taxpayers should never be on the hook to pay for abortions, and the thought of forcing Americans to foot the bill for transportation so illegal immigrants can get abortions is horrific,” Scott told Townhall in a statement. “Just when you think that the Biden administration couldn’t get any more radical, it doubles down by pairing its failed open borders policies with its extreme anti-life agenda.”

Leading pro-life organizations, including the Family Research Council and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, support the bill.

In July, Reuters reported more about the situation:

Biden officials are exploring ways to provide abortion access for pregnant women and girls in U.S. immigration custody in states with bans, four U.S. officials who requested anonymity to discuss the government plans told Reuters. Many federal shelters for unaccompanied children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border are located in Texas, where a Republican-backed law [bans abortions except when the mother’s life is at risk.]

Biden wants to take America back to 1973 when Roe v. Wade forced states to legalize abortions for any reason up to viability and allowed states to legalize abortion on demand up to birth. He has been urging Congress to pass legislation that also would force taxpayers to pay for elective abortions nationwide, allow sex-selection abortions, and eliminate parental consent and informed consent laws.

However, many Americans disagree. A 2022 Marist poll found that just 36 percent of Americans believe abortions should be legal without any restrictions. Additionally, 73 percent oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions. Both are positions supported by the Biden administration.

A new national poll by OnMessage and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America also found that 70 percent of voters oppose abortion without restrictions, and 63 percent oppose legislation that would overturn nearly all state bans on abortion, even limits on late-terms abortion.

Rather than trying to find common ground by supporting abortion limits that most Americans agree on, such as bans on late-term and taxpayer-funded abortions, the Biden administration has been drumming up division and pushing extreme pro-abortion policies that even many Democrat voters oppose.