The Senate and Barack Obama are standing in the way of eliminating use of federal funds for abortion -- including abortion funding under ObamaCare.
After a 251-172 vote Friday by the U.S. House to ban federal tax dollars for abortion under the administration's landmark healthcare reform law, the Protect Life Act (H.R. 358) now goes to the U.S. Senate. Congressman Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) points out to OneNewsNow that the law as currently written will provide tax dollars for that purpose.
"... ObamaCare, when phased in fully in 2014, will open up the floodgates of public funding for abortion in a myriad of programs, including and especially in exchanges, resulting in more dead babies and wounded mothers than otherwise would have been the case," says the New Jersey lawmaker.
Senator Alan Nunnelee (R-Mississippi) supports the measure passed by the House. "ObamaCare should not have served as a vehicle for abandoning or weakening federal policies on abortion funding," he says. "Healthcare is about saving and nurturing -- not about taking human life."
Although the House passed the bill by a substantial margin, Senate leadership is opposed to even taking a vote -- and President Obama has promised to veto it if it does reach his desk. OneNewsNow asked Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee if there does not appear to be a chance of passage, why bother with the legislation?
"Well, because the issue is so important -- and we are hopefully building towards a victory in the future," he responds. "But we have to keep calling the attention of the American people to the problem: the ticking time bomb of ObamaCare -- which unless we can repeal it is going to cause enormous damage.
"And so these debates are very important," he concludes, "and it's very important that we get the members of Congress on record on these issues."
Johnson adds that with a presidential election next year -- and many members of Congress on the ballot as well -- it is critical that pro-life advocates keep up on what is happening on Capitol Hill.
"And anybody who objects to the ObamaCare law or who objects to major provisions of it, such as those involving abortion, ought to be paying attention to how their elected representatives are voting on those matters," he argues.
The pro-life spokesman explains that is how the representative form of democracy works -- and he believes debates such as the use of federal tax dollars for abortion are an important part of that process.
Contact: Charlie Butts
source: OneNewsNow
