Rounds, Colleagues Reintroduce the Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act
WASHINGTON –U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and 11 other senators reintroduced the Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act to help end taxpayer support for the abortion industry.
“From conception to natural death, life is a gift that should be treated with dignity,” said Rounds. “It is completely inappropriate and immoral for federal taxpayer dollars to be used to fund abortions. The majority of Americans oppose using their taxpayer dollars to support this practice. Our legislation will help protect life by stopping the flow of taxpayer money to institutions that perform abortions.”
“For too long, the abortion industry has profited at the expense of the American taxpayer–despite sixty percent of Americans opposing the use of their hard-earned money to fund abortions,” said Blackburn. “The pro-life community should never be forced to foot the bill for an immoral practice that they vehemently oppose. The Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act will safeguard the sanctity of life by withholding federal funding from abortion providers and investors.”
“For 48 years the abortion lobby has received billions of taxpayer dollars under the guise of ‘overhead,’” said Martin Fox, President of the National Pro-Life Alliance. “The Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act is the best solution to this problem as it requires that any entity that receives taxpayer funds for any reason certify that they do not perform abortions. It’s simple: Perform abortions? No taxpayer funds. Period.”
The Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act would require federally funded entities to certify that they will not perform an abortion and will not provide funds to any other entity that performs an abortion. Exceptions are made for abortions where: (1) the pregnancy is a the result of rape or incest, or (2) a physician certifies that the woman suffers from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy. Hospitals are exempted unless they provide funds to non-hospital entities that perform abortions.
Read the full text of the bill here.
In addition to Rounds and Blackburn, Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) are original cosponsors of the bill.
Background:
• Every year, the abortion industry receives millions of dollars in direct and indirect federal funding, even though federal law has prohibited use of federal funds for abortion since 1976. A January 2018 Marist poll found that 60 percent of Americans oppose using tax dollars for abortion.
• Despite performing hundreds of thousands of abortions every year, organizations like Planned Parenthood have received tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer money annually. A December 21, 2020, Government Accountability Office report revealed that over the course of three years (FY16-FY18) nearly $2 billion in taxpayer dollars went to three abortion advocacy groups: Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Marie Stopes International, and International Planned Parenthood Federation.
• Abortion providers also benefit from indirect funding when entities that receive federal funding provide or fund abortions. These resources enable abortion providers to focus their resources on abortion. It is important to end this support for the abortion industry. Entities must choose to associate with the abortion industry or to receive federal funds.
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