House Democrats Push Bill to Force Americans to Fund Abortions Overseas

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky joins members of MoveOn.org and members of Congress at an eve
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for MoveOn.org
Dr. Susan Berry

House Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday that would repeal the Helms Amendment, forcing American taxpayers to fund abortions overseas.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D) introduced the bill, dubbed the Abortion Is Health Care Everywhere Act (H.R. 1670), that would repeal the Helms Amendment, a longstanding provision that has prohibited taxpayer funding of abortions abroad.

“Unsafe abortion is a global health crisis,” Schakowsky tweeted, citing the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute which, she stated, “estimates the US could prevent 19 million unsafe abortions a year if it repealed the Helms Amendment.”

Shannon Kowalski, director of advocacy and policy at the International Women’s Health Coalition, told the leftwing Common Dreams the Helms Amendment is “a racist and colonial relic,” and added, “It’s time for people worldwide to be able to access comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services without interference from the U.S. government.”

However, in a statement to Breitbart News, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America (SFLA) and SFLAction, said the Democrats’ continued portrayal of pro-abortion legislation as “life-saving health care” is flawed.

“If your version of health care kills people on purpose and risks the lives of others, you’re doing it wrong,” she asserted. “Abortion harms women as it ends preborn life and represents an offensive export to other nations, something the Helms Amendment helped prevent.”

“America should be investing in life-affirming opportunity and true health care, not abortion, which represents a message of defeat and the implication that we want fewer people around the world to be born,” Hawkins added.

Matt Perdie / Breitbart News

Schakowsky joined her Democrat colleagues Reps. Marilyn Strickland (WA) and Diana DeGette (CO) in an op-ed at the Hill, in declaring America must “decolonize our global health systems.”

“Abortion is health care, and the Helms Amendment has got to go,” the Democrats wrote, adding the longstanding provision “is nothing more than an attempt to control Black and Brown people all over the world by making it impossible for millions to access abortion.”

The bill was first introduced in the House last year, but died in the Republican-led Senate. Now, Democrats see the opportunity to pass it in the Senate and have President Joe Biden sign it into law.

Despite the insistence of the abortion industry, which profits from the procedure, and its Democrat political allies that forcing American taxpayers to fund the abortions of others is popular, two very recent national polls found the opposite is true.

Results of a Marist/Knights of Columbus poll released in January found most Americans support restrictions on abortion and oppose the government spending their tax dollars on the procedure both within the country and overseas.

The survey found 77 percent of Americans either “oppose” or “strongly oppose” the use of taxpayer funds for abortions overseas, an uptick of two percentage points from the 75 percent who responded similarly in the last two annual polls. Of those who oppose taxpayer funding of abortions abroad, 55 percent are Democrats, 95 percent are Republicans, and 85 percent are independents.

Only 19 percent of Americans say they either “support” or “strongly support” taxpayer funding of abortions outside the U.S.

Additionally, even among those who identify as “pro-choice,” 64 percent say they oppose the use of their tax dollars to support abortion overseas.

Within the U.S., 58 percent of those surveyed say they oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, including 31 percent of Democrats, 83 percent of Republicans, and 65 percent of independents.

The Marist Poll also found more than three-fourths of Americans (76 percent) back significant restrictions on abortion, including a majority who identify as “pro-choice.”

“While the number of people who identify as ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ tends to fluctuate with the public debate, when given a broader choice of policy options, there is a strong consensus among Americans on abortion,” said Dr. Barbara Carvalho, director of the Marist Poll. “Survey results reveal support for abortion restrictions and an aversion for use of taxpayer funding for abortions abroad.”

Another poll from SLFA’s Institute for Pro-Life Advancement found Millennials and Generation Z individuals (ages 18-34) are more pro-life than portrayed in mainstream and pop culture media.

According to the survey, 48 percent of Americans in this age group oppose taxpayer-funded abortion within the U.S., while 53 percent oppose funding abortions abroad.

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