Anti-abortion provisions have been included in a Republican healthcare bill even though senators have suggested they may not meet the upper chamber’s rules on what can be in the bill.
Like the House-passed bill, the American Health Care Act, the discussion draft of the Senate healthcare bill creates a new set of tax credits for people to purchase insurance that included Hyde Amendment language, a spending rider that prohibits federal funding from going towards most abortions. It also cuts off federal family planning funds for birth control, STD testing and cancer screenings from going to organizations that also provide abortions, a provision that would result in federal funding being cut off from organizations like Planned Parenthood.
The Senate is passing the bill through reconciliation, which carries a number of restrictions, including that provisions must be primarily budgetary in nature. The Senate parliamentarian is tasked with advising the Senate on whether any part of the bill meets the reconciliation rules, and reportedly has advised against some of the language.
The anti-abortion provisions are important to social conservatives, who say that Obamacare includes weaker anti-abortion language that is not satisfactory.
AAN Staff
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