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Rep. Boehner Says He Will Co-Sponsor Bill Codifying Hyde Amendment
June 28, 2010
Author: National Partnership
June 28, 2010 — At an antiabortion-rights conference on Saturday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he will co-sponsor legislation that would ban federal funding for abortion services, The Hill reports. Boehner made the pledge at the 40th annual National Right to Life Convention, where he received the group's "Legislator of the Year 2010" award for his involvement in abortion-related issues during the health reform debate.
According to Boehner, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) will introduce a bill "[c]odifying the Hyde Amendment so that is applies to all federal funding, whether those funds are appropriated by Congress or authorized by Congress" (Hooper, The Hill, 6/26). The Hyde Amendment, refers to a provision attached to the annual Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill that bans federal Medicaid funds from being used for abortion care.
"I believe this must be the next objective for pro-life America," Boehner said, adding, "It's clear from the health care debate that the American people don't want their tax dollars paying for abortion, and a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives agrees" (Pecquet, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 6/27).
During the health reform debate, many abortion-rights opponents claimed the legislation (PL 111-148) would provide federal funding for abortions. The overhaul passed after President Obama issued an eleventh-hour executive order reaffirming that the health care reform law bans federal funding for abortion care (The Hill, 6/26).
In his speech, Boehner criticized the executive order as a "disingenuous, last-minute" effort to pass the law. Boehner claimed that in the three months since the law's approval, the Obama administration "hasn't lifted a finger to enforce" the executive order (Erdley, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/27).
Boehner said that once Smith's bill is introduced, he intends to call on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) "to bring it to an immediate vote" (The Hill, 6/26).
Boehner touched on other abortion-related legislation, including a provision in the Senate defense authorization bill (S 3280) that would reverse a long-standing prohibition on abortion services in military hospitals. He also pledged that he would work to repeal the health reform law and replace it with "common-sense reforms that will lower the cost of health care and protect the sanctity of human life" (O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/27).
Rep. Boehner Says He Will Co-Sponsor Bill Codifying Hyde Amendment
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