Hyde and the other pro-life riders “are essential in protecting life as well as the consciences of millions of American taxpayers,” Sobolik and Daniel wrote. Pro-life riders other than Hyde they urged Congress to include in the final budget are the:
- Weldon Amendment, which has barred since 2004 funding for government programs that discriminate against health-care individuals or institutions that object to abortion.
- Helms Amendment, a rider first approved in 1973 that prohibits foreign aid funds from being used for abortion as a method of family planning.
- Dornan Amendment, which was first adopted in 1988 and has barred in most of the years since federal and congressionally approved local funds from paying for abortions in the District of Columbia.
- Kemp-Kasten Amendment, a 1985 measure that bans overseas family planning money from going to any organization that is involved in a program of forced abortion or sterilization.
- Siljander Amendment, which has prohibited foreign assistance funds from covering the cost of lobbying for or against abortion since 1981.
The president’s budget proposal also recommends a 40 percent increase in funds for abortion providers through the Title X family planning program, according to the ERLC.
While the pro-life riders have traditionally prevented these funds “from directly funding abortion procedures, abortion providers are still able to receive funding through [Title X] and other government funds to cover operational costs, allowing them to more easily reserve non-taxpayer dollars for abortion services,” Sobolik and Daniel wrote.
In his proposed budget, Biden “includes multiple proposals that advance ‘gender equity’ on the basis of ‘sexual orientation and gender identity,’” Sobolik and Daniel wrote. “Efforts to advance [“sexual orientation” and “gender identity”] as protected classes under federal law have explicitly included attempts to roll back religious freedom and conscience protections.”
The ERLC will “advocate against the inclusion of any provision that could hinder the American conscience and religious liberty,” according to the article.
“Sexual orientation” includes homosexuality, bisexuality and pansexuality, while “gender identity” refers to the way a person perceives himself regardless of his biology at birth.
In sections of Biden’s budget proposal commended by the ERLC, Sobolik and Daniel said the president’s proposal includes funding:
- To “support the resettlement of up to [125,000] refugees;”
- To permit the addition of 100 new immigration judges and support employees;
- To combat the opioid crisis, especially among military veterans.
This article originally appeared here.
