News

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 3, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved a measure that would strengthen and make permanent federal funding bans on abortion, as well as conscience protections for health care workers already on the books.

The Hill reports that the committee voted 23-14 along party lines to approve H.R. 3, “The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” and send it to the full House for consideration.

The bill would establish a permanent government-wide ban on federal funding of abortion, replacing the need for annual funding prohibitions or “riders” like the Hyde Amendment, which would expire as soon as Congress failed to renew them. The bill also codifies the Hyde-Weldon conscience clause, which prohibits hospitals and health care workers from being forced to perform abortions.

According to U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), one of the prime sponsors of the bipartisan pro-life measure, HR 3 gives teeth to federal conscience laws, because it now gives courts “the authority to prevent and redress actual or threatened violations of conscience.”

The bill also would prohibit any individual or corporation from obtaining federal tax benefits or tax credits for health coverage that could indirectly be used to underwrite abortion-related expenses. Additionally, the measure bans federal facilities and employees from including abortion in health care services. Federal funds are also barred from going to health benefits plans that include abortion coverage.

The Hill reports that U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), House Judiciary Chairman, hailed the measure’s passage through committee and said, “now is the time for Congress to pass one piece of legislation that prohibits the federal funding of abortions and prohibits the use of fiscal policy to encourage or subsidize abortions.”

The bill contains exceptions in cases of rape, incest (for minors), and a physical threat to the life of the mother. H.R. 3 previously had language that stated “forcible rape” as an exception, but the committee struck out that language deeming it would be confusing, and opted instead for the ordinary Hyde language.