House passes historic ban on taxpayer funding for abortion

[Shin]

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 4, 2011 (LifeSiteNews Excerpts by Kathleen Gilbert) - The House on Wednesday afternoon voted 251-175 to pass H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which makes permanent and universal the annually-approved Hyde amendment. In its current form, the Hyde amendment, which bans federal funding for abortion in cases of rape and incest, requires annual approval.

The bill was authored by veteran pro-life leader Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and sported at least 227 co-sponsors by the time of the vote. “When public funding and facilitation for abortion isn’t available, children have a greater chance at survival,” said Smith in the general debate before the final vote this afternoon.

“I remember the late Congressman Henry Hyde being moved literally to tears ... when he learned that the Hyde amendment had likely saved the lives of more than one million babies, who today are getting on with their lives, going to school, forging a career,” he added.

In the final vote, all Republicans either voted for or sponsored the bill; 16 Democrats favored it as well (Rep. Altmire, Boren, Costello, Critz, Cuellar, Donnelly, Holden, Kaptur, Kildee, Lipinski, Matheson, McIntyre, Peterson, Rahall, Ross of Arizona, and Shuler).

The bill is expected to meet with stiffer odds in the Democrat-led Senate, which in March struck down a measure to de-fund abortion giant Planned Parenthood that had strongly passed in the House. President Obama has already threatened to veto H.R. 3.

[Maria Margaret]

Wait, so let me get this straight-our tax money is no longer going to funding abortions? That's wonderful news! Tax payers will no longer have to worry about their money going to that! Assuming I read that right-which I may not have....

[Shin]

Well, not yet.

This is step one!

And it has to pass the Senate and past a veto threat.. so..

This would only be regarding the most obvious funding of abortion, and not the less so, such as "medicine" which can cause abortions, or fungible funding, that is funding places like Planned Parenthood, purportedly for other reasons. Which then of course frees up their funds for abortion, which in any case is a big money-maker for them rather than a cost.

[Maria Margaret]

Well, at least we've moved forward one step! Baby step by baby step, right? 

Thanks for the clarification!

[Shin]

Step by step!