Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Inhofe
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, has supported 25 pro-life bills this Congress to mark the annual March for Life this week. He also co-sponsored a resolution recognizing January 22, 2022 as a ‘Day of Tears’ for the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.
“Under the Trump administration, we made significant progress in our fight for life,” said Inhofe. “But now, under this current anti-life administration, it is crucial that we fight harder than ever for a future where every human life is valued and protected. Since Roe v. Wade, over 63 million babies have been killed due to the horror of abortion. These pro-life bills are a powerful first step in protecting the basic right to life and ending abortion on-demand.
Inhofe’s Legislation
Last year, Inhofe led 21 of his colleagues in re-introducing the Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act, which would ban a doctor from performing an abortion being sought because the unborn child has Down syndrome. More information about the bill can be found here. Legislation may only be introduced once in each Congress, and Inhofe is working to have a vote on his legislation.
In August, the Senate voted on his legislation as an amendment to the budget resolution. While his amendment received bipartisan support, a majority of Democrats opposed his legislation to protect individuals with Down Syndrome.
Cosponsored Pro-Life Legislation of the 117th Congress
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would prohibit abortions from being performed on unborn babies who are at or older than 20 weeks post-fertilization. More information about the bill can be found here.
The Protecting Life and Integrity in Research Act would ban HHS from conducting or supporting research using fetal tissue obtained from abortions, while encouraging the development of new ethical cell lines.
The SAVE Moms and Babies Act would prevent labeling changes for already approved abortion drugs; prevent providers from dispensing these drugs remotely, by mail, or via telemedicine; and prevent the FDA from approving new chemical abortion drugs.
The Women’s Public Health and Safety Act would clarify the authority of states to exclude providers of elective abortion, like Planned Parenthood, from their Medicaid program.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would establish a government-wide statutory prohibition on taxpayer subsidies for abortion and abortion coverage. This legislation also prohibits subsidies in the form of refundable advanceable tax credits for abortion coverage through PPACA and codifies an annual renewed appropriations policy providing conscience protections.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would ensure that a baby who survives an abortion will receive the same treatment as any child naturally born premature at the same age, without prescribing any particular form of treatment.
The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) would ban abortions based on sex discrimination.
The Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act would require abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 15 miles of an abortion clinic, thereby helping ensure women’s safety in case of an emergency during the abortion.
The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act would prohibit Title X Family Planning Program funds from being used to subsidize abortions. The program is intended to assist low-income women with family planning services. Unfortunately, this money has been used to subsidize organizations that engage in abortion activities such as Planned Parenthood.
The Life at Conception Act would recognize that life begins at conception.
The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act would make it a federal crime for physicians to perform an abortion on a minor from another state without parental consent.
The Protecting Life in Crisis Act would prohibit any funds that are authorized or appropriated for the purposes of preventing, preparing for, or responding to the COVID–19 pandemic, domestically and internationally, from going toward abortions or abortion coverage. Additionally, this bill targets any attempts to use refundable tax credits to purchase coverage on the exchanges or for COBRA continuation coverage.
The Dignity for Aborted Children Act would require abortion providers to dispose of fetal remains as human remains. It would also require providers to annually report on the number of abortions performed.
The Parental Notification and Intervention Act would prohibit a person or organization from performing, facilitating, or assisting in the performance of an abortion on an un-emancipated minor without first complying with parental notification requirements.
The Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act would codify and expand the Mexico City Policy—ensuring that no funds be made available to foreign NGOs that perform abortions, counsel for abortion, lobby for abortion policies or expanded access, or provide funding or resources for any entity, including domestic NGOs and non-profits, that perform abortions abroad.
The Abortion Is Not Health Care Act would remove the tax deductibility of the costs associated with having an abortion
The Protecting Life in Health Savings Account Act would amend the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit elective abortion from being considered an eligible expense for the purposes of health savings accounts, flexible savings accounts, Archer medical savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements and retiree health accounts.
The Conscience Protection Act would codify and expand the Weldon Amendment, to prevent discrimination in federally funded programs against healthcare providers who oppose abortion.
The Protect Funding for Women’s Healthcare Act would prohibit federal funding of Planned Parenthood, while ensuring there is no reduction in federal funding for women’s healthcare by making clear that all federal funds previously available to Planned Parenthood will continue to be made available to other eligible entities, including state and county health departments.
The Woman’s Right to Know Act would requires abortion providers to inform women 24 hours before the abortion of the associated health risks of undergoing an abortion procedure.
The Abortion Providers Loan Elimination Act would ensure Planned Parenthood affiliates, and other abortion providers, remain ineligible for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding.
The Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act would prohibit federal funds from being provided to any entity, either directly or indirectly, unless the entity certifies that it will not perform an abortion or provide funding to any entity that funds an abortion.
The Protecting Life on College Campus Act would prohibit Federal funds from going to any institution of higher learning that hosts or is affiliated with a student-based service site that provides abortion drugs or abortion to students of the institution or to employees of the institution or site.
The Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act would require states to report accurate and complete data about abortion as a condition for receiving certain Medicaid family-planning funds
The Day of Tears Resolution recognizes January 22, 2022 as a ‘Day of Tears’ for the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.