WASHINGTON, D.C. – Louisiana’s two U.S. senators have co-sponsored a bill that would establish a permanent, government-wide prohibition of taxpayer funding for abortion.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (S. 109) is co-sponsored by Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, MD, and 31 others in the Senate. Similar policies, such as the Hyde Amendment, currently require annual passage and do not apply to Obamacare, according to a news release from Cassidy’s office.
“Louisiana families should not be forced to give their hard-earned tax dollars to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood,” Cassidy said in the news release. “This measure protects babies and taxpayers.”
Kennedy added that “taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund abortions, either directly or indirectly. It’s that simple. Life is formed in the hand of God. Life is precious, and it’s our job to protect those little lives with our nation’s laws. This legislation protects lives.”
In addition to establishing a government-wide ban on federal funding for abortion, the legislation would:
- Prohibit funding for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion with funds authorized or appropriated by Federal law;
- Prohibit abortion in federal health facilities (such as DOD and VA hospitals) and ensure that no federal employee provides abortion services in the course of their employment;
- Make permanent the provisions of the DC Hyde Amendment, or the Dornan Amendment, which clarifies that the federal provisions regarding abortion funding also apply to the government of the District of Columbia;
- Ensure that elective abortion is not deductible for tax purposes by amending Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code; and
- Ensure that Affordable Care Act premium assistance subsidies provided in the form of refundable advanceable tax credits are not used to pay for health insurance plans that include abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother.
The legislation also includes a provision requiring that all plans offered by Obamacare exchanges disclose whether a plan includes coverage of elective abortion procedures, as well as the abortion surcharge embedded into abortion-covering plans.
In addition to Cassidy and Kennedy, S. 109 was introduced by Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Pat Roberts (R-KS), James Lankford (R-OK), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Inhofe (R-OK), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), David Perdue (R-GA), James Risch (R-ID), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Thune (R-SD), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Todd Young (R-IN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Tim Scott (R-SC), Rob Portman (R-OH), Ben Sasse (R-NE), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Ted Cruz (R-TX).
