Good news out of the federal budget coming out. It's now law that the government can't pressure doctors or hospitals to provide abortions if they don't want. It's nice to be able to choose.
=============
CULTURE & COSMOS
November 23, 2004 Volume 2, Number 16
New Federal Budget Contains Key Victories for Pro-Life Cause
After weeks of negotiations and wrangling Congress gave final
approval over the weekend to a new comprehensive spending bill
containing
several key victories for the pro-life and pro-family cause. Republican
leaders succeeded in including provisions preventing state governments
from forcing health providers to perform abortions, substantially
bolstered funding for abstinence education and increased funding to
fight
sex trafficking.
Chief among the pro-life victories was the enactment of the
Weldon-Hyde Conscience Protection amendment which prohibits federal,
state
or local agencies from forcing health care providers to provide
abortion
services in order to receive funds. The legislation ensures that health
care providers opposed to abortions will not be forced to choose
between
violating their conscience or losing government aid.
The pro-life language, sponsored by Florida Republican Rep. Dave
Weldon, was backed by GOP members of the House who have been in
negotiations with the Senate over the spending bill. Republican Sen.
Arlen
Specter, a key Senate negotiator, was expected to offer resistance to
the
Conscience Protection amendment. But after almost losing the
chairmanship
of the Senate Judiciary Committee for making remarks that he favored
pro-abortion judges for the Supreme Court, a newly chastened Specter
allowed the provision.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Gloria Feldt
was
unhappy with the news that health care providers would be given greater
freedom to follow their conscience. "It allows any health care provider
or
institution, religious or otherwise, to refuse to provide a much-needed
reproductive health care service." A press release from NARAL
Pro-Choice
America called the provision a "major new restriction on women's
freedom."
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., called the charge nonsense. "If they consider
giving a hospital the freedom to not perform an abortion to be 'a major
new restriction' then it is clear there is no limit to their promotion
of
abortion, including using the force of law to require pro-life
hospitals
to kill unborn children."
There were other pro-life victories in the spending bill. Funding
for
abstinence education went from $75 million to a little more than $104
million, an increase of 39 percent and more than $29 million from last
year's budget. Though the new amount falls short of President George
Bush's request of $181.9 million, it still makes headway into achieving
parity for abstinence funding versus funding for "safe-sex" programs. A
recent study by the Heritage Foundation revealed that the government
spends $12 on safe-sex education and contraception promotion for every
one
dollar spent on abstinence education.
Bush and pro-life forces scored another triumph by securing $25
million to fight sex trafficking that had been withheld last year by
Congressional appropriators. Half of the $25 million came from money
originally intended for the "family planning account" of the US Agency
for
International Development (USAID).
The bill is expected to be signed by Bush by December 3.
Copyright, 2004 --- Culture of Life Foundation. Permission granted for
unlimited use. Credit required.
Culture of Life Foundation
1413 K Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington DC 20005
Phone: (202) 289-2500
Fax: (202) 289-2502
E-mail: clf@culture-of-life.org
Website:
http://www.culture-of-life.org
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