‘The government should not offer tax benefits for a procedure that kills hundreds of thousands of unborn children each year, nor should taxpayers subsidize such a practice…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced a bill last week that would permanently prevent taxpayer dollars from funding and subsidizing abortions.
The Abortion is Not Healthcare Act directly addresses the tax code, which lists abortion as “medical care” and allows taxpayers to include abortions was qualifying out-of-pocket medical expenses on their returns.
Lee said this is a violation of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the government from using taxpayer dollars to subsidize abortions.
“The government should not offer tax benefits for a procedure that kills hundreds of thousands of unborn children each year, nor should taxpayers subsidize such a practice,” Lee said in a statement. “This undermines the truth that all human beings have dignity and worth, and that the purpose of healthcare is to heal and care for them—not kill them.”
If passed, the bill would amend Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code by adapt at the end a new subsection that reads, “An amount paid during the taxable year for an abortion shall not be taken into account under subsection (a).”
Sixteen other Republican senators have signed on to co-sponsor the bill, including Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., who recently led the fight to force the Department of Health and Human Services to end Obamacare’s abortion surcharge.
The Senate attempted to take up a bill similar to Lee’s last year, but it was blocked by a 48-47 procedural vote.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2019 was more extensive than Lee’s, and sought to make the Hyde Amendment permanent law.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., introduced a similar measure in the House last year, but it, too, was blocked almost immediately.
“The Hyde Amendment has saved at least 2 million lives,”Chris said in a statement. “[B]ecause public funds were unavailable to effectuate their violent demise, these individuals survived.”
Smith noted that despite the fact that the government had not funded their abortions, the mothers were able to receive subsidies for prenatal health care and support.
“Two million survivors have had the opportunity to live and enjoy the first and most basic of all human rights—the right to life,” he continued. “It’s time to make the Hyde Amendment permanent law.”