Dozens of babies have been killed in abortions since Joe Biden announced a new policy last September allowing abortions at VA clinics nationwide.
And the number is higher since that figure only covers through the end of April.
Since 1992, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been statutorily prohibited from using taxpayer dollars for abortion. In September, however, the Biden administration ignored the longstanding prohibition and issued a new rule that requires taxpayers to fund abortions for undefined and presumably broad “health” reasons. A department leader estimated about 1,000 unborn babies will be aborted every year under the new rule.
The rule also requires VA hospitals to abort unborn babies “regardless of state restrictions.” In response, attorneys general in 18 states recently sued the Biden administration for violating their laws protecting unborn babies.
Now, Republican members Congress are asking the VA for additional information about those abortions, especially since some of them could have been done illegally outsdie the scope of the Hyde Amendment. Republicans on the House Veterans Affairs Committee had requested quarterly updates on the data, which the agency has not provided.
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That could lead to a sobpoena, according to a report.
“The American taxpayers funding these abortion procedures at VA deserve to know how VA is carrying out the” policy, committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, who chairs the committee’s health subpanel, wrote in a letter Thursday to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.
“Failure to provide the requested information to the committee by Sept. 30, 2023, will force the committee to consider all tools at the committee’s disposal, including scheduling a vote to issue a subpoena for the requested information,” they added in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Military.com ahead of its release.
The VA told Military.com it received the letter and “will respond directly” to Bost and Miller-Meeks.
After last year’s Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that allowed states to ban abortion, the VA announced it would, for the first time, offer abortions in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or the life or health of the mother is endangered by the pregnancy.
Republicans have particularly bristled at the “health” reason because it appears to go beyond the parameters of the so-called Hyde Amendment, which bans specific government funding from going toward abortion except in cases of rape, incest or where the life of the mother is at risk.
The VA, which maintains it is not one of the government agencies subject to the Hyde Amendment, has not publicly defined what it considers a health concern that would qualify a veteran to receive an abortion.
The report indicates 44 of the babies killed in aboritons were because of specious health reasons — essentially meaning any reason for the abortion. Only 10 aboritons occured because the life of the mother was at risk or because of rape or incest.
Earlier this year, House Republicans added an amendment to their Veterans Affairs appropriations bill that would prohibit killing babies in abortions at VA hospitals and clinics unless to save the life of the mother. The the full House approved the bill on a 219-211
The pro-life group SBA Pro-Life hailed the vote, telling LifeNews that Republicans in Congress voted to right an illegal wrong by the Biden-Harris administration through passage of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024.
“Today the House took a powerful step to rein in Biden’s radical abortion agenda. The House voted to halt Biden’s illegal policy of taxpayer-funded abortions in Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide,” said SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “The Biden-Harris administration is using the VA for their radical abortion agenda instead of focusing on the pressing needs of wounded, ill and homeless veterans. VA hospitals should not be weaponized by using taxpayer dollars to fund Biden-Harris’ culture wars. The administration is actively violating longstanding law and ignoring the will of the American people who don’t want their hard-earned tax dollars funding abortions.
“We thank all of our pro-life allies in the House for courageously standing up to the Biden administration and reinforcing the existing law against using taxpayer dollars for abortion,” she added.
Biden’s radical abortion policy earned him the scorn of the nation’s Catholic bishops.
Catholic Archbishop Timothy Broglio urged Catholics to stand firm in opposition to two new Biden administration actions that force taxpayers to fund the killing of unborn babies in abortions through the military.
In an April 28 letter, Broglio said he felt “deeply saddened” by a U.S. Senate vote in April that allowed a new rule forcing the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide abortions at its hospitals to go into effect, according to the Catholic News Agency.
Broglio, who leads the Archdiocese of Military Services in the U.S., also condemned a “morally repugnant” new Department of Defense policy that forces taxpayers to pay for military members and their families to travel and receive paid time off for elective abortions.
“The policy and rule, now in effect, are morally repugnant and incongruent with the Gospel which the faithful are commissioned to share throughout the world,” the archbishop wrote. “Moreover, the new DOD policy and VA rule fail to incorporate basic conscience protections, thus creating First Amendment pitfalls for military commanders and VA employees.”
Biden professes to be a devout Catholic, but his actions are the most pro-abortion of any president in U.S. history. As a result, some bishops say he should not receive communion until he repents.
Broglio implored Catholics to advocate for unborn babies in the wake of the Biden administration’s radical pro-abortion policies. He also urged Catholics to support mothers and families in need and show mercy to post-abortive women.
“… human life is a gift to be praised, shared and celebrated joyfully,” he wrote. “Each human person is a treasure, uniquely formed and known by God (see [Psalm] 139:14-16). Each life deserves to be protected and loved, at every stage, from conception to natural death.”
At the federal level, U.S. Senate Republicans, led by U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, also tried to stop the new pro-abortion rule. However, a resolution to block the rule narrowly failed in a 48-51 vote on April 19, with one Democrat supporting and two Republicans opposing the resolution.
For the past few months, Tuberville also has been boldly opposing Biden’s pro-abortion Department of Defense policy by blocking Pentagon nominees until the administration reverses it. The policy requires taxpayers to pay travel costs and paid time off for military service members and their families to abort their unborn babies in elective abortions.
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