WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today joined Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today in introducing key legislation to enact a permanent, government-wide prohibition of taxpayer funding for abortion. Currently, similar policies, such as the Hyde Amendment, require annual passage and do not apply to Obamacare. 

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act also includes a provision championed by Senator Roberts requiring all health insurance plans offered by Obamacare exchanges to disclose coverage of elective abortion procedures and the abortion surcharge embedded into abortion-covering plans.

“Life is precious and deserves our respect and protection,” Sen. Moran said. “I have serious concerns that Obamacare is forcing millions of Americans to violate their religious beliefs by making it difficult to discern whether the health care plans offered on the Obamacare exchanges cover abortion procedures. This legislation would not only make it illegal for taxpayer dollars to be used to fund the end of innocent human life, but would also make certain consumers can make informed health insurance choices that conform to their moral beliefs.”

The legislation is the Senate companion to H.R. 7, authored by Representative Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Dan Lipinski, D-Ill. That bill passed the House by a vote of 242-179 on January 22, 2015. 

Existing laws that would also be made permanent under the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act include the Smith FEHBP amendment (which prohibits funding for elective abortion coverage for federal employees) and the Dornan amendment (which prohibits use of congressionally appropriated funds for abortion in the District of Columbia).

Last year, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office issued a report showing that taxpayer dollars paid for more than 1,000 health insurance plans that included elective abortion.

The bill is supported by the National Right to Life, the Family Research Council, the Susan B. Anthony List, Americans United for Life, March for Life, and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, among others.

###