U.S. House passes taxpayer-funded ‘slush fund’ for abortion industry in COVID-19 relief bill

UPDATE, 2/27/21: This week, the U.S. House passed a “$50 million slush fund for Planned Parenthood,” as stated by SBA List’s Marjorie Dannenfelser in a press release. They did not add Hyde Amendment protections, meaning this amounts to a massive increase in taxpayer-funded abortion. Dannenfelser said, “This divisive move flies in the face of the ‘unity’ this administration promised to promote. The majority of Americans, including millions of Democrats and Independents, oppose using tax dollars to fund abortion and bail out the abortion industry.”

2/19/21: Pro-abortion lawmakers in the US House of Representatives are reportedly attempting to expand taxpayer-funded abortion by slipping it into the COVID-19 relief bill. Their proposals include billions of dollars directly handed to abortion-friendly organizations despite the fact that the majority of Americans do not support the taxpayer-funding of abortion.

According to the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), these lawmakers are asking for $750 million for global health activities — and one of President Joe Biden’s first acts as president was to rescind the Mexico City Policy which prevented U.S. foreign aid from funding abortion overseas. They also asked for billions of dollars in funding for community health centers without applying the Hyde Amendment, which means that funding could then be applied toward abortion and abortion providers.

The lawmakers requested another $50 million in funding for the Title X family planning program. Now that President Joe Biden has directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to roll back President Donald Trump’s Protect Life Rule which had prevented Title X funds from propping up abortion businesses, that $50 million could be put directly into the hands of abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

The pro-abortion proposals also include the expansion of taxpayer-funded abortion coverage through the Affordable Care Act, and additional funding toward COBRA insurance to cover abortions.

In addition, through the COVID relief bill, Democrats want to grant Planned Parenthood access to funding for small businesses, though according to its 2018-2019 annual report, the abortion giant’s total 2018 revenue exceeded $1.6 billion, and its net assets for 2018 totaled nearly $2 billion.

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This is not the first time that pro-abortion House leadership has attempted to turn a COVID relief package into an abortion industry slush fund. Last March, Live Action News reported that Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried and failed to remove Hyde Amendment protections to special kickbacks for the abortion industry in a COVID-19 relief bill. She added abortion funding into the HEROES Act, which failed in the Republican-controlled Senate. However, in both the newly-elected House and Senate, pro-abortion lawmakers now hold the majority and could very well succeed in sending even more funding to the profitable abortion industry.

READ: Group of U.S. senators again urge SBA to halt COVID relief loans to Planned Parenthood

According to a January 2021 Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll, 77% of Americans either “oppose” or “strongly oppose” the use of taxpayer dollars to support abortion overseas, including 64% of people who consider themselves to be ‘pro-choice.’ According to the poll, 58% of Americans also oppose using taxpayer dollars to fund abortion within the United States.

“Emboldened by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Democrats in Congress want to force taxpayers to bail out the abortion industry,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Polls consistently show that the overwhelming majority of Americans, including millions of rank-and-file Democrats, are opposed to bankrolling abortion businesses whether in this country or overseas. Yet under the new pro-abortion administration, House Democrats are shamefully pushing a massive expansion of abortion on demand, paid for with tax dollars, in the guise of COVID-19 relief — including payouts to abortion giant Planned Parenthood. This divisive agenda flies in the face of the ‘unity’ the Biden-Harris ticket promised to inspire.”

When asked by Catholic network EWTN’s Owen James about the pro-abortion proposals for the relief bill, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki avoided the question, saying simply that the public supports the passing of the relief bill and wants to get the COVID-19 vaccine and get back to work.

Pro-life lawmakers in the House and Senate have pledged to uphold the Hyde Amendment. However, pro-abortion House leadership says they will pass COVID relief bills on a simple majority vote, with or without bipartisan support, according to the National Catholic Register.

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