House Forces Taxpayers to Fund Abortion, Even After Speaker Pelosi's Bishop Confirms Church Stance on Issue
Source: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Thursday was a sad day for unborn babies as well as for taxpayers who do not want their money having to fund elective abortions. Thanks to every House Democrat, the House appropriations bill purposefully left out the Hyde Amendment, which protects Americans from having to fund elective abortions at home.
Abandoning Hyde was something supported by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), even after Archbishop Salvadore Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco issued a reminder last week that "no one can claim to be a devout Catholic and condone the killing of innocent human life, let alone have the government pay for it."
His full statement read:
Let me repeat: no one can claim to be a devout Catholic and condone the killing of innocent human life, let alone have the government pay for it. The right to life is a fundamental – the most fundamental – human right, and Catholics do not oppose fundamental human rights. To use the smokescreen of abortion as an issue of health and fairness to poor women is the epitome of hypocrisy: what about the health of the baby being killed? What about giving poor women real choice, so they are supported in choosing life? This would give them fairness and equality to women of means, who can afford to bring a child into the world. It is people of faith who run pro-life crisis pregnancy clinics; they are the only ones who provide poor women life-giving alternatives to having their babies killed in their wombs. I cannot be prouder of my fellow Catholics who are so prominent in providing this vital service. To them I say: you are the ones worthy to call yourselves “devout Catholics”!
Archbishop Cordileone was responding to comments also made last week from Speaker Pelosi during a press conference, when she was explaining reasons "why to have [Hyde] overturned" after being asked by a reporter:
Because it’s an issue of health of many women in America. Especially those in lower income situations and in different states. And it is something that has been a priority for many of us a long time. As a devout Catholic and mother of five and six years, I feel that God blessed my husband and me with our beautiful family, five children, six years almost to the day, but it’s not up to me to dictate that that’s what other people should do. And it’s an issue of fairness and justice for poor women and in our country.
The Thursday vote was completely along party lines, which is not entirely surprising, except when it comes to how Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) ultimately voted.
Rep. Cuellar is a pro-life Democrat who has been endorsed by and met with Democrats for Life of America to assure the group he would support Hyde.
While the congressman did vote to include the Hyde Amendment as a member of the Appropriations Committee, the amendment failed, and Cuellar still voted for it. He voted in favor of the appropriations bill in the House on Thursday, even though it did not include Hyde protections.
Dr. Michael New, a research associate at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, shared his thoughts with Townhall, where he stressed the effect this could have come the 2022 midterm elections:
On Thursday, in a party line 219-208 vote the House of Representatives approved a package of Appropriations bills that did not include the Hyde Amendment. This marks the first time since 1976 the House has passed Appropriations legislation funding the Department of Health and Human Services, which did not include Hyde protections
The fact that every House Democrat voted in favor legislation that would fund elective abortions with taxpayer dollars shows how far to the left the Democratic Party has moved on sanctity of life issues in a short period of time. In 1976, 107 House Democrats voted for the original Hyde Amendment. Seven of the eight budgets proposed by President Clinton and all eight budgets proposed by President Obama included the Hyde Amendment. However, this past week, not one House Democrat was willing to oppose taxpayer funding for elective abortions.
Thursday's vote will certainly be salient in the 2022 midterm elections. Taxpayer funding for abortion polls poorly. There have been at least 11 national polls taken since July 2016 that have asked about taxpayer funding for abortion. In all 11 surveys, a plurality opposed taxpayer funding for abortion and in 10 of the 11 a majority opposed taxpayer funding for abortion. Additionally, several House Democrats represent moderate and conservative districts where opposition to taxpayer funding for abortion is especially strong.
In August, the U.S. Senate will consider Appropriations legislation. Here pro-lifers have a chance to restore the Hyde Amendment. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) said that he would support Hyde "in any way possible." In July, Senator Manchin and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) sent a letter to Senate leadership and the Senate Appropriations Committee expressing support for the Hyde Amendment. That said, pro-lifers are going to have to be diligent in their efforts to ensure that the Senate passes Appropriations legislation that includes the Hyde Amendment.
Being "diligent" does not seem to be a problem for Republicans in Congress. As House members of the Appropriations Committee made clear during a press conference earlier this month, they stand unified and will not relent when it comes to their refusal to vote for a spending bill that does not include Hyde protections.
A majority of Americans have consistently supported the Hyde Amendment, according to numerous polls. Even Slate acknowledged the popularity of Hyde, warning that "Abortion Funding Isn’t As Popular As Democrats Think."
As Zach reported, the appropriations bill also purposefully left out the Helms Amendment, which protects American taxpayers from having to fund abortions in foreign countries. An overwhelming amount of Americans, at 77 percent, oppose having to fund such abortions.
Meet Deanna: The Hyde Amendment Saved Her Life from Abortion
The Hyde Amendment, which prevents taxpayer funding from going toward abortion, is under threat by lawmakers. But pro-life organizations are stressing the importance of the amendment – and estimate that nearly 2.5 million people are alive today because of it. Here’s the story of one of those people.
Deanna Fortin, an attorney from Louisiana, says that she and her siblings are alive today because of the Hyde Amendment. She first wrote about her story in 2017 for the Independent Journal Review, in a piece called, “The Hyde Amendment Saved My Life.” Since then, her story has also been shared in congressional testimonies. As politicians and the Democratic Party platform challenge the Hyde Amendment, Deanna revealed more about her story in an interview for this piece.
Her story had a rough beginning.
“I was the fourth child of a poor, single mother,” she said. “My oldest sibling was 5 years old when I was born.”
Her birth mother, she continued, “unfortunately struggled with poverty and mental health issues.” But “despite all of that she tried her best to care for my siblings and I.”
Today, Deanna says, her older sister “has some contact with our birth mother.”
Deanna challenged abortion supporters who point to situations like hers to justify using taxpayer dollars for abortion.
“I’ve actually seen abortion activists use hypotheticals that exactly match my story to advocate for getting rid of Hyde, explicitly arguing that someone like me would be better off dead than being born into the situation I was,” she stressed. “It is extremely painful to listen to this type of message, as if my life was worthless because I was born into poverty. It seems to be a very out of touch, classist argument.”
First introduced in 1976 by Representative Henry Hyde from Illinois, the Hyde Amendment bans federal funding or taxpayer dollars from going toward abortion, with the exceptions of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. The legislative provision – once approved annually and supported by both sides in Congress – largely impacts Medicaid recipients.
Deanna’s comments echoed her piece from 2017, where she confirmed that “many activists fighting to get rid of Hyde would argue that her situation is exactly why Medicaid should pay for poor women’s abortions.”
But, she added, “instead of offering to kill her unborn child, free of charge, our government sent my birth mother a message of hope by paying for my prenatal care, birth, and care as an infant.”
In her interview with Townhall, she explained, “My birth mother, as someone below the federal poverty line, was eligible for Medicaid coverage for her pregnancy.”
Deanna said that she “also received Medicare coverage as a foster child.”
“My siblings and I were placed in foster care about 6 months after I was born,” she added. She spent the first five years of her life in the Louisiana foster care system. That changed when she and her siblings were welcomed into a loving home through adoption.
Her adoption, she said, is part of the reason why she identifies as pro-life.
“I think it would be impossible not to be pro-life when you’ve lived the beauty of adoption the way I have,” she said. “But on top of that, the biological and scientific truths regarding the humanity of the unborn is compelling.”
Today, she’s an active participant in the pro-life movement.
“I’ve been involved in the prolife movement for as long as I can recall, both as an attorney and a private individual,” she said. “I’ve testified before multiple state legislatures, advocated for the unborn in court, and work with a number of pro-life groups that support pregnant women in need.”
She responded to politicians (such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) who claim that the Hyde Amendment harms women, especially lower-income women.
“Being conceived in poverty should not be a government funded death sentence,” she urged. “As a country it is important that we not send a message that the lives of low income women and their children are not worth saving.”
“I am thankful the Hyde Amendment protected me from the possibility of anyone encouraging my birth mother to end my life on the government’s tab,” she added.
On Thursday, as National Review’s John McCormack reported, House Democrats passed a bill to provide taxpayer funding of elective abortions through Medicaid. This comes even as poll after poll finds that most Americans oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortion.
Deanna shared a special message for pregnant women considering abortion because they feel like they have no other choice.
“I know it’s said often that the pro-life movement doesn’t care about women, but nothing is further from the truth,” she said. “We love you. No matter your circumstances, no matter your background.”
“We want to help you make the best decision for you and your child – whether that’s supporting you with physical resources, medical care, and parenting classes, or helping you find a loving family that will love your child as their own,” she concluded. In other words, “We are here for you.”
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