House Passes "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act"

Dustin Siggins : Jan 29, 2014
LifeSiteNews.com

"Today, the House of Representatives acted as the voice of the People and passed a bill that has been estimated to save hundreds of thousands of lives each year." -House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bog Goodlatte

(Washington, DC)—By an overwhelming margin of 227-188, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 7, the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act." (Photo via LifeSiteNews)

Passed through the House Judiciary Committee on January 15, the Act would permanently enact several pro-life policies. The most prominent of these is the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortion except in cases of life of the mother, rape, and incest. Currently, the Hyde Amendment is approved annually.

H.R. 7 also prevents federal funding of health plans that include coverage for elective abortions, and eliminates federal funds for use by the District of Columbia for abortions except for so-called "non-elective" abortions, among other changes to current law.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, introduced H.R. 7 in 2013 with Democratic Representative Dan Lipinski of Illinois. Lipinski was one of six Democrats to vote in favor of H.R. 7. One Republican, Richard Hanna of New York, voted against the legislation, and one Member, Republican Paul Broun of Georgia, voted "present." (See the entire roll call here.)