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Pro-life groups praise Senate opposition to taxpayer-funded abortion Catholic News Agency
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ro-life groups praised the Senate on Wednesday for narrowly approving language against taxpayer-funded abortion. The language was part of a budget resolution, a procedural step toward eventual passage of the Democrats’ proposed $3.5 trillion spending package for the 2022 fiscal year. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced the prolife amendment, which was included in the resolution by a vote of 50-49. Lankford’s amendment is non-binding, but some pro-life leaders saw its passage as significant as they work to prevent Congress from including abortion funding in next year’s budget. “American taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund abortions or to subsidize the dangerous work of abortionists,” stated Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Denise Burke on Wednesday. “In the wake of the House of Representatives’ recent rejection of the Hyde and Weldon amendments, we are especially pleased to see the Senate vote in favor of bipartisan policies that support women and protect human life,” Burke stated. The Hyde and Weldon amendments are pro-life policies typically included as attachments to federal budget bills. The Hyde Amendment bars federal funding of most elective abortions in Medicaid. The Weldon Amendment functions as a conscience protection in health care; it restricts funding of state and local governments that discriminate against health care workers or organizations opposed to abortion. Both policies are a normally part of federal spending bills, but the House excluded both of them from spending bills for the coming fiscal year. Pro-life groups are working to include them in Senate spending bills. The budget resolution that passed the Senate on Wednesday simply sets federal spending levels for the 2022 fiscal year and beyond, and is not the text of the actual federal budget itself. It allows congressional committees to write legislation to fit these spending levels for various government agencies and programs. Lankford’s amendment creates a deficit-neutral reserve fund and allows – but does not require – the Senate budget
committee chair to prohibit funding of abortions consistent with the Hyde Amendment. It also includes similar language supporting the Weldon Amendment. Once the full budget package is considered by Congress in the coming weeks, pro-life leaders have expressed concern that it could funnel billions of dollars toward abortion providers and abortion coverage. Wednesday’s vote was seen as a marker, setting members on the record for or against federal funding of abortions in the 2022 fiscal year budget. The White House on Wednesday would not give a reaction to the inclusion of Lankford’s amendment in the resolution. Owen Jensen, White House correspondent for EWTN News Nightly, had asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki about the amendment. “I don’t think I’m going to negotiate from here. The President’s position on Hyde is well known and we’ve stated many times publicly,” Psaki responded. When Jensen tried to follow up, Psaki refused to answer further. President Joe Biden, once a proponent of the Hyde Amendment, is now trying to dismantle it. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the president’s feelings of Hyde being included in the new human infrastructure bill. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), seen as a key Democratic swing vote, voted for Lankford’s amendment, as did moderate Republican senators Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa
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