Budget bill bans bias on abortion A $388-billion spending bill approved by Congress over the weekend has some questionable expenditures, like up to $2 million for a naval museum’s purchases of a former presidential yacht and a quarter-million to Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame. Then there are items that religious conservatives won’t be happy about. For example, expenditures are lower than requested for programs promoting sexual abstinence and helping ex-offenders get jobs. But some items they’ve got to be thrilled about: like banning federal funds for the creation or destruction of human embryos for research purposes, and barring schools from using federal funds “to prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in the public schools.”
Nevertheless, one provision is getting all the attention:
None of the funds made available in this Act may be made available to a Federal agency or program, or to a State or local government, if such agency, program, or government subjects any institutional or individual health care entity to discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.
(For those wanting to read the bill, this is Sec. 508 (d)(1) under Title V–General Provisions.)
Rep. David Weldon (R-Fla.), who sponsored the addition to the bill, explains, “This policy simply states that health care entities should not be forced to provide elective abortions, a practice to which a majority of health care providers object and which they will not perform as a matter of conscience. … This provision is meant to protect health care entities from discrimination.”
Individual doctors (Weldon’s one, by the way) have the freedom not to perform abortions, but this now extends protection to hospitals, clinics, HMOs, insurers, and other such groups.
Some Democrats say discrimination should be mandatory, and that health care providers should not have the right to choose.
“They should not be doing this,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Ca.) told The New York Times. “On a huge spending bill they’re writing law, and they’re taking away rights from women.”
Taking away rights from women? That would be what, the right not to have the right to choose whether to support abortion? Doesn’t Boxer liked to consider herself “pro-choice”? Apparently choice is only a freedom granted to those who don’t have a problem with killing the unborn.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) gets even crazier. “The Weldon amendment is essentially a domestic gag rule, restricting access to abortion counseling, referral and information,” she told the Associated Press. In Pelosi’s world, prohibiting prolifers from opposing abortion is freedom of speech.
Boxer and Pelosi are consistent, but what they’re consistency cheering isn’t “choice.” Pro-abortion is the only moniker that fits.
By the way, the bill got passed because Senate leaders promised a vote next year on repealing the measure. Prolifers should welcome the opportunity to expose those who are both anti-choice and anti-life.
Hate crimes in America The FBI just released its annual report of hate crime statistics for the U.S. Here’s the breakdown for religiously motivated attacks. Any crime against someone’s religious liberty is terrible, but these numbers are worth comparing to the U.S. State Department annual report on international religious freedom.
Crimes against persons
|
Bias motivation |
Offenses |
Murder & manslaughter |
Forcible rape |
Aggravated assault |
Simple assault |
Intimidation |
Other |
|
Religion (Totals) |
1,426 |
0 |
0 |
26 |
83 |
375 |
2 |
|
Anti-Jewish |
987 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
34 |
274 |
1 |
|
Anti-Catholic |
78 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
|
Anti-Protestant |
50 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
|
Anti-Islamic |
155 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
29 |
50 |
0 |
|
Anti-Other Religion |
118 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
14 |
28 |
1 |
|
Anti-Multiple Religions, Group |
25 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
|
Anti-Atheism / Agnosticism/etc. |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
Crimes against property
|
Motivation |
Robbery |
Burglary |
Larceny-theft |
Vehicle theft |
Arson |
Destruction / vandalism |
Other |
Crimes against society |
|
Religion (Totals) |
4 |
32 |
30 |
3 |
5 |
860 |
4 |
2 |
|
Anti-Jewish |
1 |
12 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
638 |
1 |
1 |
|
Anti-Catholic |
1 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
52 |
1 |
1 |
|
Anti-Protestant |
1 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
31 |
1 |
0 |
|
Anti-Islamic |
0 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
62 |
0 |
0 |
|
Anti-Other Religion |
1 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
58 |
1 |
0 |
|
Anti-Multiple Religions, Group |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
|
Anti-Atheism / Agnosticism/etc. |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
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