Editor’s note. Last week Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-Ks.) spoke in favor of H.R. 18, “The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ). The Smith bill would make permanent, and government-wide, the Hyde Amendment, which prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions.
Mr. LaTurner
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of retaining the Hyde amendment, and the bipartisan spirit that has allowed this commonsense provision to remain in law every year since 1976. This past January 22 marked the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which struck down any laws protecting unborn children from abortion in every State in the Union. The Roe v. Wade decision has now resulted in the tragic deaths of over 62.5 million unborn children, and currently it is estimated that as many as 2,500 unborn American lives are ended every day through abortion.
When this body first enacted the Hyde amendment in 1976 through funding for what was then the Health, Education, and Welfare agency, the vote was an overwhelming bipartisan 312–93. And even prior to that final enactment, nearly half of Democrats in the House voted for the amendment when it was first considered. This began a 40-year agreement on both sides of the aisle that Americans opposed to abortion should not be forced to violate their conscience and religious liberty, by subsidizing abortions through their tax dollars.
The principle that no citizen should be forced to pay for these services that contravene their strongly held beliefs has stood the test of time, and it is one that this body should protect and highly regard. But most importantly, this simple budget rider has saved more human lives from abortion than any other policy at the Federal level. Today, it is estimated that over 2.5 million lives have been saved by the Hyde amendment since it was first enacted. To this day, this prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion enjoys strong support with the American people. A Marist poll earlier this year found that almost 60 percent of the Americans opposed the use of taxpayer-funded abortions.
The Hyde amendment has historically been supported by mainstream Democrats as well. In 1994, [then-Senator] Biden wrote in a letter to a constituent, ‘‘The government should not tell those with strong convictions against abortion, such as you and I, that we must pay for them.’’ Again, in 2005, he remarked that abortion was ‘‘always a tragedy,’’ and said, ‘‘I think we should be focusing on how to limit the number of abortions.’’ And as recently as last year, he acknowledged the fact that the majority of the American people agree with the Hyde amendment. I can assure you that nothing has changed in the time since President Biden made those statements, other than perhaps a desire to appease the belligerent, liberal left that dominates Democrat policy today.
Back in Kansas, the Kansas Supreme Court wrongly ruled in Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt. They ruled that it paves the way for unrestricted, unlimited, and even State taxpayer-funded abortion. I am grateful for the work of Kansans for Life, the Kansas Catholic Conference, the Kansas Policy Institute, and all of the Republican legislators in the statehouse who have placed the Value Them Both Amendment on the ballot next year. The Value Them Both Amendment will allow for commonsense regulations of the abortion industry that protect both the baby and the mother, and ensures no State taxpayer funds will be used to fund abortion. I am confident that when Kansas voters speak on this issue next year, Kansans will choose life. And I think Kansans’ respect for the sanctity of life can be a model for Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I, again, respectfully encourage my colleagues across the aisle to reconsider voting to remove the Hyde amendments from law. And I pray that President Biden will return to supporting the commonsense Hyde amendment as he had for his first 46 years of public service. Congress must reaffirm our commitment to defending the most vulnerable lives among us, the unborn. We must reaffirm and retain the Hyde amendment, legislation that is supported by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress and in the White House, for over a generation. We must reject the abortion politics of the far left, and continue to find a way to work together whenever possible to protect human life at its most vulnerable stage.