House Members Petition Leaders to Keep Pro-Life Hyde Amendment

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House Members Petition Leaders to Keep Pro-Life Hyde Amendment

By Kathleen Gilbert

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – U.S. Representatives Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Heath Shuler (D-NC) have drafted a letter to House leaders urging them to retain traditional pro-life provisions in the House's annual appropriations bill that President Obama has promised to remove.

Despite its history of bipartisan support, Obama has made clear his intention to repeal the Hyde amendment as part of his radical pro-abortion agenda. The Hyde amendment is a provision that has been in effect since 1976 that bans taxpayer funding of abortions.

"Members of both parties have expressed strong support for these measures, which reflect the moral concerns of many Americans who do not wish to see their tax dollars used for any organization that provides abortion services," notes the letter. "We believe that failure to include all of the current policies with regard to the right to life will mark a radical departure from a policy a majority of Americans support."

The letter is addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Appropriations Chair David Obey, and Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter.

The authors of the letter have called upon pro-lifers to urge their representatives to sign the letter by Feb. 13.

In case the pro-life provisions (known as “riders”) are removed from the bill, the letter asks that the deleted provisions be granted consideration on the House floor. "The magnitude of this issue and the history associated with it require no less. If this Congress intends to rescind these riders, at a minimum the American people deserve a full debate with an up-or-down vote," it states.