President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the reason the government doesn’t give money to entities that discriminate against pro-life health care providers.
In 2005, then-Rep. David Weldon, R-Fla., first proposed the Weldon Amendment, which prohibits Department of Health and Human Services funds from going to entities that discriminate against providers that don’t pay for, provide, cover, or refer for abortions. The amendment has been readopted in every HHS appropriations bill since then.
“The Weldon Amendment protects pro-life pregnancy centers, churches, and pro-life organizations by prohibiting discrimination from government officials because they do not refer for abortion or provide coverage for it in their health insurance plans,” Kevin Theriot, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal aid organization, told The Daily Signal. “Government officials should never target groups and individuals simply because of their pro-life beliefs.”
Weldon, a medical doctor and Army veteran, represented Florida in the House from 1995–2009. He ran in 2023 for a seat in the Florida House, but lost the Republican primary to Debbie Mayfield.
The text of the Weldon Amendment says: “None of the funds made available in this act may be made available to a federal agency or program, or to a state or local government, if such agency, program, or government subjects any institutional or individual health care entity to discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.”
The amendment defines the term “health care entity” to include “an individual physician or other health care professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.”
Trump’s nominated Weldon on Friday night to lead the CDC.
“As a father of two and a husband of 45 years, Dave understands American Family Values, and views Health as one of utmost importance,” Trump said in an emailed statement. “Dave will prioritize Transparency, Competence, and High Standards at CDC. Dave will proudly restore the CDC to its true purpose, and will work to end the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and Make America Healthy Again!”
Weldon had a 100% pro-life voting record during his time as a Republican congressman.
After the House passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2000, which he voted for, Weldon said abortion is not a religious issue but a human one.
“The distance between life and death for these babies is a mere three inches,” he said. “Since Roe v. Wade, we have seen 35 million abortions in this nation. The value of human life has been debased in our civilization to the point where animals have protective rights where humans do not. We are knee-deep in a culture of death.”
Trump’s nomination of Weldon garnered praise from leaders of the pro-life movement, especially after some pro-lifers raised concerns about pro-abortion nominees such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Trump tapped to direct the Department of Health and Human Services.
Steven Ertelt, founder and CEO of LifeNews, said Trump “could not have made a more solid pro-life selection” than Weldon.
Jay Richards, director of The Heritage Foundation’s DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family, said Weldon “has long been a champion for the lives of the ‘least among us.'”
“David Weldon is a proven leader for life, and we look forward to working with him,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told The Daily Signal.