After the House of Representatives approved a bill that would permanently ban taxpayer funding of abortions, President Donald Trump said he would sign it into law.
The House approve the pro-life measure today and the Trump administration issued a statement saying the president would sign it into law once the Senate approves it.
“The Administration strongly supports H.R. 7,” the White House said in a statement today. “If the President were presented with H.R. 7 in its present form, he would sign the bill.”
“This bill would continue to prohibit the Federal government from paying for affected procedures with the taxes of Americans who find abortion morally or religiously objectionable,” the White House continued.
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The full statement appears below:
STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY
H. R. 7 – No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017
(Rep. Smith, R-New Jersey, and 47 cosponsors)The Administration strongly supports H.R. 7. The legislation would prohibit any funds authorized or appropriated by Federal law to be expended for any abortion, or for direct payments to insurers for health benefits coverage that includes coverage for abortions. H.R. 7 also would prohibit the purchase of abortion coverage with matching funds from federally subsidized programs, including Federal and State Medicaid funds. The legislation would not relate to the treatment of any complication caused by or worsened by an abortion, nor to the treatment of abortions in the case of rape, incest, or preserving the life of the mother. This bill would continue to prohibit the Federal government from paying for affected procedures with the taxes of Americans who find abortion morally or religiously objectionable.
If the President were presented with H.R. 7 in its present form, he would sign the bill.
During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump called for passage of the legislation to permanently ban taxpayer financing of abortions.
The call for banning taxpayer funding of abortions came in a letter from Trump. Trump committed to a new policy: “Making the Hyde Amendment permanent law to protect taxpayers from having to pay for abortions.”
“Hillary Clinton’s unwavering commitment to advancing taxpayer-funded abortion on-demand stands in stark contrast to the commitments I’ve made,” Trump wrote then, “to advance the rights of unborn children and their mothers when elected president.”
Every year, Congress is forced to fight the battle to protect Americans from being forced to pay for abortions with their tax dollars. Democrats annually fight the pro-life budget provision and hope they can eventually reverse it should they take control of both the White House and Congress.
That has led to pro-life groups calling to the adoption of a permanent law putting Hyde in place long-term and making it more difficult for pro-abortion forces to reverse. Today, Trump announced his support for such a law.
