On January 22, the House approved, 242-179, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R. 7).
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), would permanently prohibit the use of federal funds to pay for abortions or to purchase insurance plans that cover abortion. Current law – the Hyde Amendment – prohibits federal funding of abortions. However, Congress approves the Hyde Amendment as an amendment to federal spending bills and, therefore, it must be renewed annually.
Among other provisions, the legislation would prohibit abortions from being performed in federal facilities and health care providers employed by the federal government from performing abortions as part of their employment. In addition, the bill would prohibit federal funds from being used to pay for health insurance plans that include coverage of abortion services. The measure also would prohibit the use of cost-sharing reductions and premium credits under the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) for qualified health plans that provide abortions.
The prohibitions would not apply in instances of rape or incest, or to protect the life of the mother.
The District of Columbia would be prohibited from using local funds to provide abortion services to low-income residents.
The House was scheduled to consider the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ). However, the measure was pulled from floor consideration after several Republicans voiced concerns that language in the bill regarding instances of rape and incest was too restrictive. Specifically, H.R. 36 would have permitted abortions in the case of rape, but only if the woman had reported the incident to law enforcement. Additionally, the bill would have permitted abortions in the case of incest if the victim was a minor.
