No ‘Hyde-ing’ abortion

RICHARD A. SOKERKA

Democrats in the House of Repre­sentatives last week continued their assault on life in the womb by advancing a new spending bill for the Depart­ment of Health and Human Ser­vices without the Hyde Amendment, and other longstanding, bipartisan provisions including the Weldon Amendment. Eliminating these provisions would force taxpayers to pay for elective abortions and force health care providers and professionals to perform and refer for abortion against their deeply held religious beliefs, as well as force employers and insurers to cover and pay for abortion.

The House Democrats are following the lead of President Joe Biden, whose proposed budget does not include the amendment for the first time in more than four decades. House Democrats indicated they would go this route and in doing so have effectively guaranteed that abortion access will be a central focus of government funding negotiations between Democrats and Republicans — who have the votes to block the Democrats’ measure from passing the Senate without changes.

The Democrats’ actions drew a clarion call from U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) to all Catholics “to contact their legislators and make their voices heard. The lives of millions of vulnerable children, and the well-being of their mothers, depend on our advocacy.”

A statement issued by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called the Democrats’ political maneuvering against life in the womb, “The most extreme pro­abortion appropriations bill that we have seen, effectively mandating healthcare professionals to participate in abortion, and forcing American citizens to pay for abortion with their tax dollars.

“By eliminating the Hyde Amendment, and other Hyde-like policies, the financial fruits of Americans’ labor would advance the destruction of the smallest, most vulnerable humans. Eliminating the Weldon Amend­ment would be an egregious violation of conscience rights by forcing individuals and entities to perform, pay for, or otherwise participate in an abortion against their beliefs. Abortion is not healthcare nor a ‘human service’ to anyone. Rather, abortion is inhumane. It is a painful death to an innocent baby, and often leaves women physically harmed and emotionally devastated.

“Americans’ tax dollars should be used for the common good and welfare of all, not to finance abortion or force Americans to violate deeply-held beliefs,” the statement said.

Congress must reject any budget that omits vital pro-life protections and all Americans who care about defending the unborn must speak up for the voiceless in the womb. It is vital that pro-life protections, including the Hyde amendment and its companion amendments, are preserved in the budget.

The U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, with the help of the Knights of Columbus, is sponsoring a petition to legislators asking them to preserve the Hyde Amendment, which over the years has saved the lives of more than 2.4 million children since 1976.

Sign the petition now at NoTaxpayerAbortion.com before more innocent lives in the womb are lost to abortion.