A House committee has voted on a measure that would stop the killing of unborn babies in abortions at taxpayer-funded Veterans Administration facilities.
Republicans defeated Democrats 34-27 on a party-line vote to approve the measure put forward in response to a new Biden administration policy announced last September to allow killing babies in abortions at VA hospitals and medical centers. The goal of the policy was to enable abortions in pro-life states that legally protect unborn children.
In April, six months after the rule went into effect, the VA reported that 34 babies had been killed in abortions at the taxpayer-funded medical centers.
That prompted Republicans on the Appropriations Committee to insert language into the blocking the V.A. abortion rule into the military construction budget for fiscal year 2024. Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) sponsored the pro-life amendment to the bill that now heads to the full House for consideration.
In April, Catholic Archbishop Timothy Broglio urged Catholics to stand firm in opposition to two new Biden administration actions that force taxpayers to fund the killing of unborn babies in abortions through the military.
In an April 28 letter, Broglio said he felt “deeply saddened” by a U.S. Senate vote in April that allowed a new rule forcing the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide abortions at its hospitals to go into effect. Broglio, who leads the Archdiocese of Military Services in the U.S., also condemned a “morally repugnant” new Department of Defense policy that forces taxpayers to pay for military members and their families to travel and receive paid time off for elective abortions.
“The policy and rule, now in effect, are morally repugnant and incongruent with the Gospel which the faithful are commissioned to share throughout the world,” the archbishop wrote. “Moreover, the new DOD policy and VA rule fail to incorporate basic conscience protections, thus creating First Amendment pitfalls for military commanders and VA employees.”
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Broglio implored Catholics to advocate for unborn babies in the wake of the Biden administration’s radical pro-abortion policies. He also urged Catholics to support mothers and families in need and show mercy to post-abortive women.
“… human life is a gift to be praised, shared and celebrated joyfully,” he wrote. “Each human person is a treasure, uniquely formed and known by God (see [Psalm] 139:14-16). Each life deserves to be protected and loved, at every stage, from conception to natural death.”
Since 1992, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been statutorily prohibited from using taxpayer dollars for abortion.
In September, however, the Biden administration ignored the longstanding prohibition and issued a new rule that requires taxpayers to fund abortions for undefined and presumably broad “health” reasons. A department leader estimated about 1,000 unborn babies will be aborted every year under the new rule.
The rule also requires VA hospitals to abort unborn babies “regardless of state restrictions.” In response, attorneys general in 18 states recently sued the Biden administration for violating their laws protecting unborn babies.
At the federal level, U.S. Senate Republicans, led by U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, also tried to stop the new pro-abortion rule. However, a resolution to block the rule narrowly failed in a 48-51 vote on April 19, with one Democrat supporting and two Republicans opposing the resolution.
For the past few months, Tuberville also has been boldly opposing Biden’s pro-abortion Department of Defense policy by blocking Pentagon nominees until the administration reverses it. The policy requires taxpayers to pay travel costs and paid time off for military service members and their families to abort their unborn babies in elective abortions.
