WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate has lifted a ban to provide family-planning aid to overseas organizations that promote or perform abortions.
In a vote 53-41 last Thursday, the senate reversed current U.S. policy restricting aid to abortion groups in favor of using taxpayer’s money to support overseas health groups which include abortion as a method of family planning.
“Once again, this Congress is threatening to abolish long-standing pro-life policies that protect preborn children,” said Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action, in a statement.
Earll added, however, that “Thankfully, once again, President Bush is standing in the way with a veto threat. As the president has demonstrated in the past, he’s willing to use his veto pen to defend pro-life policies, and for that we are grateful.”
The overturned measure is known as the “Mexico City” policy – named after the location where it was first announced by former President Ronald Reagan in 1984 at the United Nations International Conference on Population.
Under Reagan, the United States said it would no longer fund nongovernmental organizations that violated the international agreement for nations not to use family planning assistance fund to support groups that include abortion as part of their family planning.
The policy continued as law from 1984 to the present, except for an eight-year gap during the Clinton administration. President Bush, a strong advocate of the policy, reinstated the policy by executive order in his second full day in office in 2001.
“I will veto any legislation that weakens current federal policies and laws on abortion, or that encourages the destruction of human life at any stage,” wrote Bush to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in May.
Presidential hopeful Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) had sponsored the failed amendment to restore the Mexico City Policy in the $34 billion Foreign Operations spending bill.
Congress must achieve a two-thirds majority in order to override the president’s veto.
Comments
I agree with RBB, I don't want my tax money spent on Abortion here or anywhere else... I thank God of Pres. Bush. Hopefully he will veto the bill. Pray much....
The Constitution is quite clear in what is cherished. What isn't cherished is murder. Churches have ALWAYS had status since the inception of the country. That's the way the founders wanted it and I'm pretty good with that. What they DIDN'T want is sanctioned murder of unborn children.
This vote was for the expenditures OUTSIDE of the US to other countries. I don't see that anywhere in the founding documents. If you do, please show me where it is located.
Well then, it's a good thing our government isn't subsidizing organized religion.
You don't want your tax dollars subsidizing abortions? Fine! I don't want my tax dollars subsidizing organized religion, so let's start taxing all of them.
I do not want my tax dollars to fund any abortions, whether overseas or in America. The Citizens of the United States should have a say as to what their taxes fund!
The United States Congress (Senate and House) should really get out and find out how the American people really think about this issue. So much of the USMEDIA slants what the people really want.
Abortion is murder, plan and simple. Life is God given and only God has the soverignty to end that life. I wonder how many would support abortion if their own life hung in the balance; hmm, they might think otherwise.
God breathed into man, and he became a living soul! That is the most awesome action that I can ever think on; that Almighty GOD gives man life and so many continue to deny Him.
Well, that's also their God given right, and yet it doesn't change the FACTS! Life begins with GOD, not man!
One day, praise the good LORD, this world is over and HE will bring a new world and a new heavens!
Abortion is against God's will no matter how it is funded.
Please pray to Our Lady of America to intercede on our behalf. Do all you can by reading Her messages at www.oltiv.org.
I don't want my tax dollars paying for abortions in this country or any other.