Never give up defending the defenseless

January 28, 2017

By U.S. Congressman Raul Labrador I have always strongly supported protections for the unborn and I’m happy to report two big wins for the pro-life movement in the first week of the Trump Administration. On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order restoring the “Mexico City” policy that prohibits foreign nongovernmental organizations from receiving federal funding if they perform or promote abortion services. The policy is named for the location of a conference where President Ronald Reagan – a champion of the unborn – first instituted the restrictions in 1984. President Obama rescinded the rule in 2009. On Tuesday, I was pleased to join my House colleagues in approving H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. The bill establishes a uniform policy against taxpayer funding of abortion in all government programs, including Obamacare. This historic legislation owes its origins to another pro-life warrior, former House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde of Illinois. In 1976, three years after Roe v. Wade made abortion-on-demand widely available, the Hyde Amendment barred taxpayer dollars from being used to fund most abortions and abortion coverage through programs like Medicaid. But the Hyde Amendment applied only to one appropriations bill, requiring Congress to attach annual bans to programs funded by other revenue streams, such as international aid and the federal employee benefits program. H.R. 7 replaces that patchwork with a clear policy applying the principles of the Hyde Amendment across the federal government. I believe no American should be forced to violate their conscience rights by subsidizing abortions. The American people agree. According to a new Marist Poll, 83 percent of Americans oppose the use of tax dollars to support abortion in other countries and 61 percent oppose spending tax dollars to fund abortions in the U.S. The pro-life movement has much to celebrate, as hundreds of thousands are expected to gather in Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life. The first march was held January 22, 1974, on the first anniversary of Roe v. Wade. On Friday, the crowd heard from speakers including Vice President Mike Pence, the highest-ranking official to ever address the marchers. They ended the march outside the Supreme Court. Since the first march, an estimated 57 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. That tragic figure would have been higher without the Hyde Amendment, which has saved two-million unborn children. Those two-million people outnumber Idaho’s population of 1.7 million. Every one of those lives is cherished, enriching their loved ones and contributing to their communities. We must never give up our fight to defend the defenseless.