This was a big week for the pro-life community.
President Donald Trump and the House of Representatives started the week by taking action to defend life and ensure that taxpayer dollars are not entangled with abortion, both at home and abroad. Then on Friday, tens of thousands of Americans converged on Washington, D.C., for the 44th annual March for Life.
On Monday, Trump reinstated the life-affirming Mexico City policy, which ensures that American taxpayers do not fund international organizations that perform or promote abortions. Since 1984, this policy has been enforced by every Republican president and rescinded by every Democratic president.
Trump’s recently published presidential memorandum indicates that not only is he reinstating the Mexico City policy, he is strengthening it.
As explained by The Daily Signal, it is long-standing policy for the United States to prohibit funding for abortion in international programs.
Without the Mexico City policy, abortion giants like the International Planned Parenthood Federation are eligible to receive millions of taxpayer dollars designated for non-abortion-related activities—but, because money is fungible, this frees up other funds for performing or promoting abortion abroad.
The Mexico City policy closes this loophole by requiring recipients of U.S. aid dollars to certify that they will not perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.
Previous iterations of the policy have applied to U.S. Agency for International Development and State Department funds. The Trump memo expands the policy by instructing the secretary of state and secretary of health and human services to extend the policy to funds “furnished by all departments or agencies.”
Likewise, previous iterations of the policy have applied to nongovernmental organizations that provide services abroad. The Trump memo indicates that the policy will also apply to other international organizations, such as the United Nations Population Fund.
The memo directs the secretary of state to ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars do not fund organizations or programs that “support or participate in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.”
Trump is right to include this direction in the memo. During the Obama administration, the U.S. sent over $250 million in taxpayer dollars to the United Nations Population Fund, despite continued assertions that the fund has been involved in China’s coercive two-child policy.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act by a bipartisan vote of 238-183.
In a speech on the House floor, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., explained that the legislation makes the Hyde Amendment and other current abortion funding prohibitions permanent and government-wide; ensures that Obamacare (until it is repealed) conforms with the Hyde Amendment; and until a new plan year begins, ensures full disclosure, transparency, and the prominent display of the extent to which any health insurance plan on the exchange covers abortion to empower people to opt out.
Smith also noted that H.R. 7 passed the House in 2014 and 2015, under veto threat from President Barack Obama. The Trump administration, on the other hand, released a statement saying that if presented with H.R. 7, Trump would sign the bill into law.
The majority of the American people do not support the use of tax dollars to fund abortion in the U.S., and it is now time for the Senate to act and permanently codify this life-saving policy.
The tens of thousands of Americans who gathered for the March for Life on Friday came with a message of compassion, hope, and expectation. They are creating a culture of life in America, and they expect their government to reflect this by passing robust policies that respect the dignity of every human being.
