BOISE, Idaho — U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) along with Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and 46 other pro-life senators today sent a unified message to Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer underscoring their commitment to block any bill that would undermine the Hyde Amendment or any other pro-life protections.
“We are united in our resolve to guard against any changes to Federal law that would unsettle nearly half a century of bipartisan consensus against taxpayer funding for abortion on demand, or otherwise threaten the lives of unborn children,” the letter read in part. “Accordingly, we are committed to vote against the advancement of any legislation that would eliminate or weaken the Hyde Amendment or any other current-law pro-life protections, or otherwise undermine existing Federal pro-life policy.”
This letter is endorsed by Susan B. Anthony List, Family Research Council, March for Life, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Right to Life, Heritage Action, Concerned Women for America, Americans United for Life, Live Action, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the Center for Family and Human Rights, Eagle Forum, and Students for Life of America.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) led the effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to send a letter to congressional leaders with 200 signatures in support of protecting the Hyde Amendment and other pro-life protections.
For a full list of signatories on the letter, click here.
Read the full letter here or below:
Dear Leader Schumer:
We believe in the value of every child. Each precious child should be honored by our nation and protected by our laws.
The Hyde Amendment is the law of the land, as has been so since 1976. The Hyde Amendment has enjoyed decades of bipartisan support, including from then-Senator Joe Biden, and has been signed into law by Democrat and Republican Presidents alike. We are deeply opposed to efforts to allow taxpayer funding of abortion on demand and eliminate this more than four-decade-old consensus. Instead, we urge you to allow the Senate to continue its long tradition of bipartisan cooperation in enacting annual appropriations, as well as other health-related spending, with longstanding pro-life protections intact.
Abortion is not health care; rather, it is a brutal procedure that destroys the life of an innocent unborn child. The Hyde Amendment reflects a consensus that millions of pro-life Americans who are profoundly opposed to abortion should not be coerced into paying for it or incentivizing it with their taxpayer dollars. A substantial majority of the American public agrees. A 2021 Marist poll found that nearly six in ten Americans, including even more than a third of those who identify as pro-choice, oppose the use of their taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions. Most importantly, the Hyde Amendment saves lives. Analysis by the Charlotte Lozier Institute estimates that over 2.4 million Americans owe their lives to the Hyde Amendment, and it routinely saves more than 60,000 lives every year.
In addition to preserving the Hyde Amendment’s inclusion in the annual Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, it is equally important that the Senate maintain all other longstanding pro-life protections in Federal law. These include, but are not limited to, prohibitions on funding for abortion and abortion coverage for the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as well as foreign aid due to the Helms Amendment. Other longstanding pro-life provisions prevent the District of Columbia from funding elective abortions, prohibit the destruction of human embryos in federally funded research, prohibit funding for abortion-related lobbying overseas, as well as protect the conscience rights of Americans opposed to abortion.
We are united in our resolve to guard against any changes to Federal law that would unsettle nearly half a century of bipartisan consensus against taxpayer funding for abortion on demand, or otherwise threaten the lives of unborn children. Accordingly, we are committed to vote against the advancement of any legislation that would eliminate or weaken the Hyde Amendment or any other current-law pro-life protections, or otherwise undermine existing Federal pro-life policy.
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