You Need to Know

When Congress returns this week from its 10-day recess, several pieces of legislation await not the least of which are two bills that could determine whether American taxpayers will become the biggest patrons of global abortion.

As part of the bill to reauthorize health coverage for Native Americans, Senator David Vitter (R-La.) has proposed an amendment to ensure that "health care" does not include tax-funded abortion. Vitter's proposal mirrors that of the Hyde amendment, which prevents the federal government from funding abortion through Medicaid. Because the Indian Health Service (IHS) is subsidized by Interior Department appropriations, the Hyde amendment does not apply.

If the measure passes, the longstanding policy would be codified, and IHS could not use government funds to pay for abortion-on-demand. Please call your senators at 202-224-3121 and ask them to support the Vitter amendment to S.1200. While you're at it, urge them to preserve the ABc model in this week's battle for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

President Bush just returned from an extensive African tour where he was greeted with the deepest appreciation for our efforts in combating HIV/AIDS across the continent. That mission could be compromised if Senate Democrats succeed in replacing the current abstinence and fidelity components of PEPFAR with abortion subsidies and a prostitution clause. The current PEPFAR program, one-third of which is dedicated to abstinence-only programs, is set to expire this year. President Bush has called for Congress to double the initial $15 billion budget, which would raise PEPFAR's 2009-2013 budget to $30 billion, while Democrats hope to more the triple the spending at $50 billion. If the federal government hopes to spare more lives from the devastation of HIV/AIDS, abortion is not the answer. Abstinence and fidelity are.