Date: 2011-05-04
Speaker: JOHN BOEHNER (republican)
Chamber: H

for his eloquent statement and for his compassion for both mothers and children who are hurt by abortions. and for ERIC CANTOR. our superb majority leader. and the 228 cosponsors of this legislation. Madam Speaker. there is no doubt whatsoever that ending all public funding for abortions saves lives. Even the proabortion Guttmacher Institute said in an analysis in 2009 that "approximately onefourth of women who would have had Medicaidfunded abortions (if the Hyde amendment did not exist) instead give birth when this funding is unavailable." In other words. when public funding and facilitation isnt available for abortion. children have a greater chance at survival. I said earlier during the debate on the rule that I remember the late Congressman Henry Hyde being moved literally to tearsI was in the room when it happenedwhen he learned that the Hyde amendment had likely saved the lives of more than 1 million babies who today are getting on with their lives. going to school. forging a career. perhaps serving in this Chamberat least some of themor even establishing their own families. H.R. 3. the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. comprehensively ensures that all programs authorized and appropriated by the Federal Government. including ObamaCare. do not subsidize the killing of babies except in the rare cases of rape. incest. or the life of the mother. H.R. 3 ends the current IRS policy of allowing tax favored treatment for abortions under itemized deductions. HSAs. MSAs. and FSAs. H.R. 3 also ends the use of tax credits under ObamaCare to purchase insurance plans that include abortions. again. except cases of rape. incest. or a threat to the life of the mother. Madam Speaker. we know that Americans are taking a good. long. hard second look at abortion. The polls show it. On taxpayer funding. a supermajorityover 60 percent and some polls put it as high as 68 or 69 percentdo not want their funding being used to pay for abortions. Earlier in the debate. some of my colleagues had suggested that this is a tax increase. yet the Americans for Tax Reform. who doggedly protect the public purse. have said. "Americans for Tax Reform has no problems or issues with H.R. 3. The bill has no net tax change whatsoever." H.R. 3 also makes the HydeWeldon conscience protection permanent and significantly more effective by authorizing the courts to prevent or redress actual or threatened violations of conscience. And we know without any doubt that there are huge pressures. particularly in some States. like California. to coerce healthcare providers and plans and insurers and entire health care systemsespecially those who are faithbasedto change their policy and to permit abortion on demand. The need for this protectionHydeWeldonis great. According to Alliance of Catholic Health Care. which represents Californias Catholic Health Systems and Hospitals. "Californias Catholic hospitals operate in a public policy environment that regularly challenges the concept of consciencerights protections by attempting to coerce them and other health care providers to perform. be complicit in. or pay for abortion." On three different occasions in the past three years. the California Department of Managed Health Care denied health insurance plan applications because the plans excluded abortion coverage and demanded that all healthcare plans must provide coverage for all basic health care services and medicallynecessary health services including socalled "medicallynecessary abortions." This is a clear violation of the HydeWeldon conscience clause. but the injured parties lack judicial recourse. This legislation would remedy this problem by making the policy permanent and providing access to the courts. Let me just conclude. Madam Speaker. Someday I truly believe future generations of Americans will look back on us. especially policymakers. and wonder how and why such a rich and seemingly enlightened society. so blessed and endowed with the capacity to protect vulnerable human life. could have instead so aggressively promoted death to children and the exploitation of their moms. They will note with deep sadness that some of our most prominent politicians. while they talked about human rights. they never lifted a finger to protect the most persecuted minority in the world. the child in the womb. Protect innocent life. vote for H.R. 3. the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.