Federal Pro-Life Provisions in Jeopardy
'Many Americans do not wish to see their tax dollars used for any organization that provides abortion services.'
Over the years, Congress has built in many protections to make sure taxpayers don't fund abortion here or abroad. Now, those pro-life policies are in jeopardy.
Pro-life measures, called "riders," are added to spending bills and cover issues like taxpayer-funded abortions and abortions for federal prisoners. When Democrats took the majority in Congress in 2006, the battle over these riders escalated.
As Congress begins discussing spending bills, Reps. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, are leading the charge to keep the pro-life provisions in place. Almost 100 of their colleagues will be asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Appropriations Committee to leave the riders alone.
"It's a moral issue for so many of us here in Congress," Shuler told CitizenLink recently. "We want to ensure that we secure the sanctity of life and the importance of an unborn child."
The most well-known pro-life rider is the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal funding of domestic abortions except in rare cases.
The letter from Shuler and Jordan reads, in part: "Members of both parties have expressed strong support for these measures, which reflect the moral concerns of many Americans who do not wish to see their tax dollars used for any organization that provides abortion services."
Contact: Jennifer Mesko
Source: CitizenLink
Source URL: http://www.citizenlink.org
Publish Date: February 11, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090212_1.htm
