Cross-posted at Bold Faith Type
By Kristin Ford
As the misleadingly titled "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" came to a vote this week, we reminded political leaders that the legislation was entirely unnecessary to achieve its stated goal (since the Affordable Care Act and the longstanding Hyde Amendment already bar federal funding of abortion) and in fact could have negative and far-reaching consequences.
Many pro-life Democratic Members of Congress agreed. Politico Pulse reported this morning: "Fourteen Democrats who voted for the Stupak Amendment during health care reform voted against Chris Smith's 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,' saying it just went too far for them."
Rep. Tim Ryan, who has been a champion for finding common ground on abortion both by preventing unintended pregnancies and supporting pregnant and parenting women, said:
I've always supported the notion that taxpayer dollars should not go towards funding abortions. What I don't support is creating a new bureaucratic boondoggle that forces millions of private small businesses to waste amazing amounts of time going over the fine print of their health insurance policies because Republicans in Congress can't resist politicizing an issue that's already been laid to rest.
Faith leaders agreed that this was an attempt by Congressional leaders to rehash old fights, rather than focus on the real issues at hand-- getting our economy back on track and working together to support American families.
As Lisa Sharon Harper, executive director of New York Faith & Justice, said:
"H.R. 3, the 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion' is a solution to a non-existent problem. On the heels of another effort to repeal the landmark health care reform law this week, political leaders in the House of Representatives should focus on protecting American families by strengthening our economy, not picking random fights on divisive culture war issues. "