The U.S. Bishops’ Conference (USCCB) has launched a campaign to put an end to taxpayer-funded abortions, urging citizens to petition Congress to defend the Hyde Amendment.
“Taxpayer dollars should NOT pay for abortion,” the USCCB tweeted Tuesday. “Tell Congress not to take innocent lives!”
The tweet was accompanied by a link to a petition called “No Taxpayer Abortion,” a site warning that “Congress is trying to force Americans to pay for abortion.”
“The Hyde Amendment and similar laws have protected taxpayers from funding elective abortion for 45 years,” the site states. “Now, powerful members of Congress want to take away these laws that both Democrats and Republicans have supported for nearly half a century.”
“The Hyde Amendment has saved nearly 2.5 million babies and mothers in difficult circumstances from the tragedy of abortion,” it continues, adding that an “overwhelming majority of Americans, including low-income women and women of color who are most impacted by it, support the Hyde Amendment and laws that prevent government-funded abortion.”
Throughout his presidential campaign, Joe Biden, who identifies as a Catholic, declared his unwavering support for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, named for former Representative Henry Hyde (R-Il).
Last January, the U.S. Bishops condemned President Biden’s reinstatement of taxpayer-funded abortions around the world by repealing the Mexico City Policy, a measure banning federal financing of abortions abroad.
“It is grievous that one of President Biden’s first official acts actively promotes the destruction of human lives in developing nations,” declared Archbishop Joseph Naumann, chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop David Malloy, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace in a joint statement.
“This Executive Order is antithetical to reason, violates human dignity, and is incompatible with Catholic teaching. We and our brother bishops strongly oppose this action,” the bishops stated.
Biden’s executive order allows U.S. taxpayer funds to be sent to organizations that both “promote and provide abortions in developing countries,” revoking the life-saving Mexico City policy, the Bishops said.
The overturned policy had separated abortion from family planning activities and “ensured U.S. taxpayer dollars only went to organizations that agreed to provide health services in a way that respected the dignity of all persons,” the bishops noted.
“We urge the President to use his office for good, prioritizing the most vulnerable, including unborn children,” the bishops added.
Mainstream media have continuously presented Biden as a “devout Catholic” who takes his faith seriously.
The Catholic Church, however, teaches that abortion is an abominable crime and a sin so grave that the harshest punishment the Church imposes — automatic excommunication — is attached to it.
The Church also teaches that Catholic politicians have a “grave and clear obligation to oppose” any law that promotes abortion.