Jake LaTurner

Mr. LaTURNER

Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of retaining the Hyde amendment, and the bipartisan spirit that has allowed this commonsense provision to remain in law every year since 1976. This past January 22 marked the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which struck down any laws protecting unborn children from abortion in every State in the Union. The Roe v. Wade decision has now resulted in the tragic deaths of over 62.5 million unborn children, and currently it is estimated that as many as 2,500 unborn American lives are ended every day through abortion. When this body first enacted the Hyde amendment in 1976 through funding for what was then the Health, Education, and Welfare agency, the vote was an overwhelming bipartisan 312-93. And even prior to that final enactment, nearly half of Democrats in the House voted for the amendment when it was first considered. This began a 40-year agreement on both sides of the aisle that Americans opposed to abortion should not be forced to violate their conscience and religious liberty, by subsidizing abortions through their tax dollars. The principle that no citizen should be forced to pay for these services that contravene their strongly held beliefs has stood the test of time, and it is one that this body should protect and highly regard. But most importantly, this simple budget rider has saved more human lives from abortion than any other policy at the Federal level. Today, it is estimated that over 2.5 million lives have been saved by the Hyde amendment since it was first enacted. To this day, this prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion enjoys strong support with the American people. A Marist poll earlier this year found that almost 60 percent of the Americans opposed the use of taxpayer-funded abortions. The Hyde amendment has historically been supported by mainstream Democrats as well. In 1994, President Biden wrote in a letter to a constituent, ``The government should not tell those with strong convictions against abortion, such as you and I, that we must pay for them.'' Again, in 2005, he remarked that abortion was ``always a tragedy,'' and said, ``I think we should be focusing on how to limit the number of abortions.'' And as recently as last year, he acknowledged the fact that the majority of the American people agree with the Hyde amendment. I can assure you that nothing has changed in the time since President Biden made those statements, other than perhaps a desire to appease the belligerent, liberal left that dominates Democrat policy today. Back in Kansas, the Kansas Supreme Court wrongly ruled in Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt. They ruled that it paves the way for unrestricted, unlimited, and even State taxpayer-funded abortion. I am grateful for the work of Kansans for Life, the Kansas Catholic Conference, the Kansas Family Policy Alliance, and all of the Republican legislators in the statehouse who have placed the Value Them Both Amendment on the ballot next year.

Mr. LaTURNER

Mr. LaTURNER. Madam Speaker, this past January 22 marked the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. Now more than ever, America must continue to unapologetically stand for the sanctity of all human life. As the representative of Kansas' Second Congressional District, my constituents can be assured that I will always protect pro-life values at home and in Washington. I promised that I would be a fearless pro-life advocate throughout my public service, and I will keep my word to those who elected me. In Kansas, I am proud to put my full support behind the ``Value Them Both Amendment'' that recently passed the Kansas Legislature. Currently, there is a legal basis for an unrestricted, unlimited abortion access in Kansas due to the Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt decision handed down by our liberal Kansas Supreme Court. The Value Them Both Amendment will allow for commonsense regulation on the abortion industry that protects babies and mothers. Thankfully, both the Kansas House and Senate passed the constitutional amendment by a two-thirds vote. Now the voters of Kansas will have the final say during a statewide election in 2022, where I am confident Kansans will choose life. I will always unapologetically defend the sanctity of all human life, especially the most vulnerable among us--the unborn. I promised that I would be a fearless pro-life advocate throughout my public service, and I will keep my word to those who elected me to serve in Congress. After being sworn into office on January 3rd, I immediately joined the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus as my first congressional caucus and cosponsored several key pieces legislation which would defund Planned Parenthood, prohibit any abortion after 20 weeks, and prohibit the use of federal tax dollars for abortion. Despite all of this, we are already beginning to see the drastic consequences of the 2020 presidential election for the pro-life community. President Joe Biden is wasting no time to advance his radical pro-abortion agenda. The Biden administration announced that they intend to revoke the Mexico City Policy, which bans United States taxpayer funding to foreign organizations that provide abortions. President Biden and his Democrat counterparts will shamefully send Americans' hard-earned money to other countries with the intention of funding abortions--this is deeply wrong and sends a horrible message about our values to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, it does not end there. President Biden also proudly campaigned on ending the Hyde Amendment, a bipartisan, pro-life public policy that has been in place for more than four decades that restricts federal funding for abortions. If you didn't know, President Biden had previously opposed taxpayer-funded abortion for nearly 50 years, until he decided to run for president and abandon his conviction on the issue. I pray that President Biden will appeal to his better angels and return to a commonsense support of the Hyde Amendment, especially if he truly wants to unite our country. Forcing American taxpayers to subsidize unrestricted, unlimited abortions will only further our divisions and isolate our fellow Americans. We must reaffirm our commitment to defending the most vulnerable lives among us--the unborn. Pro-life Americans, especially pro-life Kansans, will not rest until innocent human life is protected from the abortion industry. Life will win.