By James Tillman
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Republican Congressman Todd Akin and Democratic Congressman Gene Taylor have sent a letter signed by 180 members of Congress to House and Senate leadership urging them to eliminate language from the FY2011 Defense Authorization bill that would permit abortions on military bases.
“DoD medical facilities should remain focused on providing the best possible care for our military service members and their families, not providing abortion on demand,” said Akin and Taylor.
The Blagojevich-appointed Democratic Senator Roland Burris offered an amendment to the FY2011 National Defense Authorization Act on May 27 that would permit abortions in domestic and overseas military facilities. It passed the Senate Armed Service Committee by a vote of 15-12.
The amendment would strike Section 1093(b) of Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which states that no facility of the department of defense may be used for an abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and risk to the life of the mother. The law has been in place since 1996.
Akin said that “at a time when we are engaged in two wars, it is unfortunate that Senator Burris has decided to insert this contentious issue into the DOD Authorization.”
Akin has said that such a bill would demand that all taxpayers be co-conspirators in killing children through abortion.
Rep. Gene Taylor pointed out that in the past “military medical personnel firmly rejected previous efforts to turn our nation’s military medical facilities into abortion clinics.”
President Clinton signed a memorandum permitting abortions at military facilities in 1993.
Even before the current ban on abortion in military facilities was passed in response to the Clinton memorandum, military physicians commonly refused to perform or assist in elective abortions.
This led the administration to seek civilians who would do what military doctors would not. “If the Burris Amendment were enacted,” the letter warns, “not only would taxpayer funded facilities be used to support abortion on demand, but resources could also be used to search for, hire, and transport new personnel simply so that abortions could be performed.”
More importantly, the letter states that “military treatment centers – which are dedicated to healing and caring for life – should not facilitate the taking of the most innocent human life: a child in the womb.”
A similar amendment was offered in the house in 2006, where it failed by a vote of 191-237. This amendment offered abortion only on overseas bases; the Burris Amendment is more expansive in allowing abortion on both domestic and overseas military bases.
The Defense Authorization bill passed by the House does not contain the language of the Burris Amendment. Senator Chris Smith has said that he does not expect the House to accept the bill if it returns from the Senate with the Burris Amendment.
“We will stand very firm,” Smith has said. “I believe there will be an overwhelming vote in the House to keep our military hospitals as nurturing centers, not abortion mills.”
A repeal of the military's ban on openly homosexual service members has also been attached to the FY2011 defense bill.
See related stories on LifeSiteNews.com:
Rep. Smith Vows to Oppose Military Abortions in Defense Bill
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10061108.html
U.S. Senate Committee Oks Amendment Ditching Military Abortion Ban
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/may/10052811.html