In Wake of Roe Ruling, Senate Democrats Push to Use US Aid Dollars to Fund Abortions Around the Globe
Democrats in the Senate have introduced a bill that would open the door for American taxpayer money to be used for abortions around the world. The bill would repeal an amendment that prohibits U.S. foreign aid from being used to pay for those abortions.
Forbes reports the measure known as "The Abortion Is Health Care Everywhere Act" is the same bill that was introduced in the House last year.
"We know that many countries have used Roe to support liberalizing their abortion laws and now face challenges," Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn), one of the bill's co-sponsors, told Newsweek. With Roe now tossed out, she and other Democrats want the United States to find a way to "expand access" to abortion.
As CBN News reported in 2021, a Marist poll from January shows an overwhelming majority – 77 percent of Americans – oppose federal funding for international abortion. The poll found opposition to using taxpayer funds to pay for abortion in other countries across all parties, including 55% of Democrats, 85% of Independents, and 95% of Republicans.
"The underlying pro-abortion language in this bill is far outside the mainstream of American values," Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) told fellow lawmakers at the time.
The Helms Amendment was passed in 1973 after the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion nationwide. According to the amendment, no foreign assistance funds may be used to pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.
But efforts to repeal Helms have gained new traction since the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) told Forbes that lawmakers want "to make it clear that still, when it comes to foreign assistance to women, that the United States can be there for them."
Republican lawmakers have long supported the Helms Amendment. Last year, Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) argued the amendment is a "fundamental protection for the unborn" when the House Appropriations Committee in July of 2021 advanced a spending bill that didn't include it, Forbes reported. "It is why global health programs have achieved great bipartisan support and its removal jeopardizes that kind of support in the future," Granger said.
The bill is not expected to pass the Senate, since it would need 60 votes to succeed.
As CBN News reported last year, the Biden administration has made abortion a top priority, promising to use U.S. taxpayers' money to promote abortion within the U.S. and even to spread it to other countries.
Just a few days after Biden was sworn in to office, he started by ending what's known as the Mexico City Policy. That's a policy that says the U.S. will not provide foreign aid for groups that provide or promote abortions.
The Mexico City Policy was created by President Ronald Reagan to protect unborn babies from abortion. Every Democrat president has reversed the rule, using U.S. money to promote abortion. Every Republican president has reinstated the policy.
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