Last Friday, President Joe Biden released his $6 trillion budget request for Fiscal Year 2022, which for the first time in forty-five years that an annual budget would allow taxpayer funding of abortion. Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment and similar laws have protected taxpayers against funding elective abortion with the support of both Democrats and Republicans. However, the President's latest budget request removes the Hyde Amendment and other protections, paving the way for billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commented on President Biden's proposal, recognizing that:
"Taxpayer-funded abortion represents a failure to serve women in their maternity by funding despair and death instead of hope and life. All women deserve the resources to enable them to fully care for and nurture their baby, to welcome them in a loving, stable environment. These resources would be far better spent supporting women in crisis pregnancies and struggling new mothers so that no woman ever feels economic pressure to have an abortion."
The petition, initiated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, reads: Taxpayer dollars should NOT pay for abortion. The majority of Americans agree with this - both Democrats and Republicans. For 45 years, the Hyde amendment and similar laws have protected taxpayers from being forced to pay for elective abortion. The Hyde amendment has been signed into law every year since 1976, whether the Congress and the White House were led by Republicans or Democrats. The Hyde Amendment has saved nearly 2.5 million babies and mothers in difficult circumstances from the tragedy of abortion. 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. We urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to ensure that the Hyde Amendment and all similar life-saving appropriations riders remain in place during the 117th Congress and beyond. Do not force Americans to subsidize the taking of innocent life. Oppose any bill, including any appropriations bill, that expands taxpayer funding of abortion.
Please share information about the effort and encourage others to sign the petition. Find additional resources at www.micatholic.org/NoTaxpayerAbortion. Thank you in advance for your advocacy.
This week, the Senate Finance Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 113, legislation to provide a tax credit for donations made to homeless shelters, food banks and kitchens, and community foundations. If passed, the credit would go into effect for donations made after January 1, 2021 and would equal fifty percent of the sum of the taxpayer's contributions, up to $100 or $200 for a joint return. The measure is sponsored by Senator Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) and is supported by Michigan Catholic Conference. The committee did not vote this week but is expected to return to the measure in the near future.
