A Congressional Push to Protect Life

With a new Congress comes new priorities.  Without question, there's a growing number of members of Congress who want to ensure that protecting innocent human life is a top legislative priority.  It is especially encouraging to see the commitment to defend life that is being demonstrated by the leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

As you know, the House repealed ObamaCare, the pro-abortion health care law, and we're backing efforts to hold an up-or-down vote in the Senate.   At the same time, there's specific legislation being introduced in Congress that underscores a commitment to protecting human life.

House Speaker John Boehner has spoken out strongly in defense of life, and has made pro-life legislation a centerpiece of the agenda for the House during the first few weeks of the 112th Congress.  He has designated the repeal of the pro-abortion ObamaCare law as his highest priority by making it the first numbered piece of legislation, H.R. 2.  Further, he has designated as H.R. 3 a bill authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) that eliminates all subsidies for abortion under ObamaCare.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has been equally strong in his defense of life.  In fact, Cantor was the primary author of H.R. 2, the repeal of ObamaCare.  Both Boehner and Cantor gave statements to the "March for Life" rally, and have cosponsored numerous pieces of pro-life legislation in the early days of the 112th session.

Below are just three of the most important pro-life legislative efforts that are currently being considered in Congress. 

H.R. 3 The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)

H.R. 3 would statutorily prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars for abortions.  This is especially important due to fact that many of the abortion funding restrictions that are currently in place expire annually and are constantly in danger of being eliminated.  This legislation would ensure that American taxpayers are not forced to pay for something they so strongly oppose.

H.R. 358 The Protect Life Act Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA)

H.R. 358 would ensure that no funds authorized under ObamaCare are used to fund abortion.  The language of this legislation is consistent with the Stupak/Pitts Amendment, which was initially passed by the House, but then discarded before final passage of ObamaCare.  While there are many reasons to oppose ObamaCare on the whole, it is critical that we continue to work to ensure that abortion is not included as a healthcare service under the law, and that taxpayers are not forced to pay for it.

H.R. 217 Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)

H.R. 217 would prohibit federal family planning dollars from being granted to any entity that either perform abortions or funds abortions through another entity.  If passed, this legislation would effectively deny Planned Parenthood and other similar groups from receiving federal family planning money.  Given the fact that Planned Parenthood receives more than $350 million from the federal government annually, and in turn performs approximately 325,000 abortions every year, H.R. 217 would appropriately remove the U.S. taxpayer from the business of funding abortions.

Were excited about these new pro-life efforts and appreciate the dedication of our members to support these critical measures. 

Well keep you posted on the progress of these important pieces of legislation.  Stay tuned to Jay Sekulow Live! for updated information.