Last week, members of a Senate committee voted for an amendment to make permanent, President Barack Obama's overturning the Mexico City Policy. That is the order that stopped sending taxpayer funds to groups that promote and perform abortions in other nations.
Obama reversed the Mexico City Policy in January and polls after that showed a strong majority of Americans opposed his taxpayer-funded abortion agenda.
Not content to rely on Obama's opening of the abortion-funded floodgates in other countries, members of the Senate proposed an amendment to the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill to make the move federal law.
The move is important because it would make it so a pro-life president could not restore the Mexico City Policy and its tax-funded abortion limits. Instead, Congress would have to approve a new law overturning the amendment.
Senator Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, offered the pro-abortion amendment along with Democratic Senators Pat Leahy, of Vermont, Barbara Mikulski, of Maryland, Pat Murray, or Washington, and pro-abortion Republican Susan Collins of Maine. On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the amendment to permanently overturn the Mexico City Policy on a 17-11 vote.
Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, said the vote "is just going to create a really big fight" and pro-life groups will plan an all-out effort on the Senate floor for a vote on an amendment to delete the pro-abortion language. Brownback and other pro-life lawmakers may go as far as launching a filibuster against the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill of the language making the abortion funding federal law is not removed.
The pro-life policy had been in place during the entirety of the Bush administration and Obama rescinded it on his first week in office.
A February Gallup poll found strong majority of Americans are upset that Obama would send their tax money overseas to perform and promote abortions. It found 58 percent of Americans opposed Obama's pro-abortion decision while just 35 percent supported it and 7 percent had no opinion.
Breaking down the new poll further, Gallup asked respondents to state their opinion on seven major actions President Obama has taken since becoming president. Overturning the Mexico City Policy engendered more opposition than any of the other actions and it had the lowest level of support.
The pro-abortion move also evoked the least support from Democrats and the most opposition from Republicans and independents. While 59 percent of Democrats supported the move, it came in last among the seven total issues on which Gallup surveyed. Only 8 percent of Republicans backed overturning the limits as did just 33 percent of the independent voters surveyed -- with opposition higher about this action than any other Obama has taken a president.
ACTION: Contact your two U.S. senators and urge strong opposition to the Lautenberg amendment against the Mexico City Policy. Urge lawmakers to remove the amendment from the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill and to vote against the bill if it is not removed. Go to www.Senate.gov for contact information for your senators.
