The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 7 to prohibit taxpayer funded abortion in any federal government program or department. The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2015, sponsored by pro-life caucus co-chairs, Reps. Chris Smith (Rep) and Dan Lipinski (Dem), passed by a vote of 242-179.

The vote came as hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates participated in the annual March for Life which commemorates the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision on January 22, 1973, which along with the Doe vs. Bolton decision, imposed abortion on demand throughout pregnancy on the United States. The House Republican leadership was eager to show its pro-life support to the marchers and arranged for the House to be in session and to vote on legislation to reduce abortion and save lives.

H.R. 7 seeks to: a) make the Hyde Amendment restricting federal funding of abortion and other current abortion funding prohibitions permanent; b) ensure that the Affordable Care Act conforms with the Hyde Amendment as President Obama had promised it would when he sought and received support from some Members of Congress; c) provide full disclosure, transparency and the prominent display of the extent to which any health insurance plan on the exchange funds abortion.

According to Rep. Smith, "On March 24, 2010, President Obama issued an executive order that said the Affordable Care Act 'maintains current Hyde Amendment restrictions governing abortion policy and extends those restrictions to newly created health insurance exchanges.' We now know that's not true at all.  The ACA does not extend Hyde Amendment restrictions to the newly created health insurance exchanges."

In 2014, a Judiciary Committee Report on H.R. 7 suggested that the Hyde Amendment has saved over a million children because 1 in 4 women who would have procured an abortion don't go through with it when public funding isn't available.

Americans by wide margins do not want to their tax dollars to fund abortion. A recent Marist Poll found that 68% of Americans disapprove of using tax dollars to pay for a woman's abortion and among those who self-identify as "pro-choice", 49% believe tax dollars should not pay for abortion while 47% believe it should.

The poll, commissioned by the Knights of Columbus, also showed that 59% of Americans think abortion does more harm than good to a woman in the long-run.

The measure proceeds to the Senate, now in Republican control.

The "abortion pill"-- referring to medications used to induce abortion including the RU 486 regimen and misoprostol alone-tops the list in 7 family planning trends to watch for in 2015 by two population control leaders who display no hesitancy in calling abortion "family planning". The opinion piece appears in the news feed of Devex, which self-identifies as "the media platform for the global development community".  

The authors state: "This year promises to be an interesting one for international family planning. The abortion pill is at the top of the list. Distribution and sales of these drugs are increasing everywhere they are available, including Mozambique, which recently liberalized its abortion policy. Although the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is considered the gold standard, misoprostol alone is extremely effective and may be meeting close to half of worldwide abortion demand in countries where abortion is restricted. Social marketing groups sold 3.3 million combination packs and 16 million misoprostol-only tablets in 2013 and these numbers will increase."

Last year in a similar article, the same authors listed drugs that induce "chemical abortion" or "medical abortion" in fifth place and labeled them a "game-changer, inexorably altering the reproductive health landscape".

The abortion industry, and marketplace, have been prioritizing distribution of "abortion pills" and working to secure inclusion of the drugs in essential medicines registries of countries. The supply appears to be increasing demand.  

The writers, leaders of DKT International which specializes in social marketing of commodities related to sexuality and reproduction, explain: "Although the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is considered the gold standard, misoprostol alone is extremely effective and may be meeting close to half of worldwide abortion demand in countries where abortion is restricted. Social marketing groups sold 3.3 million combination packs and 16 million misoprostol-only tablets in 2013 and these numbers will increase."

In 2012 they claimed, "1.8 million combination packs of the drugs and another 16 million misoprostol tablets" were sold. It is unknown if, or how, the drugs were actually used; more research is needed as Misoprostol has other uses including prevention and treatment of post partum hemorrhage.

The use of abortion-inducing drugs in lieu of surgical abortion is promoted in both legal and illegal settings by pro-abortion activists who seek "universal access to abortion" despite the dangers and complications of the drugs which can lead to severe bleeding-- the leading cause of maternal death.  

DKT states on its website that it was the "first organization in India to run advertisements on national television about medical abortion. In Mozambique, Ethiopia and India, DKT is making manual vacuum aspiration kits and medical abortion drugs (misoprostol and mifepristone/misoprostol combination packs) increasingly available to rural and hard-to-reach consumers.  In 2013, DKT provided 1.2 million safe abortion doses."

Pressure is mounting on countries to allow registration and distribution of these drugs in order to increase the availability of abortion, especially as medical doctors increasingly refuse to destroy the lives of unborn children in abortion. Canada is one country currently facing this debate.

The second trend identified in the article is "Emergency contraceptive drugs". The authors state, "The line between medical abortion and emergency contraception may blur further in 2015. Low doses of mifepristone have proven to be effective as emergency contraception for some years. Ulipristal acetate, an especially effective emergency contraceptive drug, appears to work similarly to mifepristone, and may be an abortifacient at early gestation periods. More research may make it possible for women who want to avoid or end pregnancy to take a pill at almost any stage after sexual activity."

This year, Tanzania will hold a national referendum on a new constitution that opens the door for abortion. Strongly influenced by pro-abortion NGOs, the new document proposes to open access to "health services including reproductive health and safe motherhood" (Clause 54) under "Rights for the Disabled" and "Women's Rights". Human Life International (HLI) Tanzania has started a national campaign to educate the public and lobby against the constitution. "We must not let what happened in Kenya in 2010 happen here. When our life-loving culture is threatened by influential foreign entities, we must respond. We must educate our fellow Tanzanians, and help them to understand the importance of rejecting any new language in laws that do not uphold and value life from conception to natural death," said Hagamu. The vote is expected this April.

An analysis of national laws has identified Louisiana, Mississippi, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas as the states in the USA that offer the most protection to women and children from abortion. The states were deemed "All Stars" on Americans United for Life (AUL)'s 2015 Life List which looks at states' advances to build a culture of life through legislation, policy and events. The top five states all enacted legislation aimed at increasing regulations and restrictions to protect the health and safety of women and children from the abortion industry.

This strategy is part of AUL's "Women's Protection Project" which is designed to increase the transparency and accountability of the abortion industry and is found in AUL's book of model legislation for states, Defending Life, its 10th edition available now. Defending Life is a tool for both legislators and pro-lifers to use to work at rebuilding a culture of life through laws and policies. "Pro-life model legislation has been a game changer," said Dr. Yoest, President and CEO. "Consistently, AUL has developed innovative and constitutionally sound laws to protect women and their unborn babies. That trend continues today. The abortion industry should be put on notice that they will not be allowed to keep profits high and standards low."

A pro-life Nigerian organization is working to combat the promotion and performance of illegal abortion. Save the Unborn Babies Pro-Life Initiative (STUB) was created in 2013 to educate Nigerians on the humanity of the unborn child and reduce abortions by holding seminars, lectures, prayer vigils, and participating with the 40 Days for Life campaign. The group also works to fulfill its mission to "make Nigeria a safe place for preborn babies" by assisting mothers and children with educational, emotional and material support through pregnancy care centers. STUB exists to counter the heavy influence of pro-abortion organizations like Marie Stopes, which are very active in Nigeria. "People need to understand that the unborn child is a unique human being growing in the womb of his/her mother as ordained by God, and not a body part of a woman to be treated by her as she wishes. If you say a woman has a right to kill her own child with her hands, how then can you condemn other killings?" said STUB co-founder Kelechi Anyaghara.

Regional reviews have been underway around the globe prior to the March meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 

at the United Nations where delegates will review the Beijing Declaration and Beijing Platform of Action from Fourth World Conference of Women meeting in Beijing in 1995. Activists will use this meeting to further radical concepts related to "sexual and reproductive rights and health" (SRHR), including abortion. A clear example is an NGO statement issued by organizations from the Asia and the Pacific region which calls "for accountability of governments" and is intended "to influence the Beijing +20 review processes".

We cite examples from the Asia Pacific CSO Steering Committee on Beijing +20 and its calls for governments to change laws and to be held accountable.

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Governments must ensure that all women and girls can exercise their right to a full range of quality, free, and comprehensive sexuality education and reproductive health information and services, including safe and legal abortion, provided through the public sector, without any form of stigma, discrimination, coercion or violence. Governments must revoke discriminatory and punitive laws and policies that undermine the sexual and reproductive health and rights of marginalized women and girls, including rural women, women and girls living with HIV, sex workers and entertainers, women who use drugs, women with disabilities, migrant and mobile women, lesbian and bisexual women, transgender people, elderly women, rural women, women working in the informal sector, and girls and young women. To guarantee these sexual and reproductive health and rights, governments must allocate financing to ensure the availability, acceptability, accessibility and quality of services and adopt mechanisms for accountability that including regular monitoring, and redress mechanisms for violations. This process must be consultative and include the meaningful participation of NGOs, specifically women's and feminist organizations, ensuring their role in government accountability.

Recommendation

Access to safe and legal abortion is a human right. When governments deny this right, they endorse, tolerate and perpetrate institutional violence against women. Governments must decriminalize abortion, remove all legal and implementation barriers, and ensure access to safe, comprehensive, free and high-quality abortion services, as well as post-abortion care.

Mozambique President Armando Guebuza signed into law a bill legalizing abortion on demand. The legislation, passed by the Parliament last July, permits abortion for the first trimester, in cases of rape or incest up to 16 weeks, and in case of disability of the child up to 24 weeks. The bill's passage followed over a decade of lobbying by the Ministry of Health, the Mozambican Association of Obstetricians/Gynecologists, Ipas, Pathfinder International and other women's, legal, health and civil society organizations . Ipas credits its advocacy work with the Ministry of Health and parliamentarians for the change in law.

President Danilo Medina vetoed a bill to maintain the country's ban on abortion and instead called for new legislation to permit abortion in cases of rape, incest and disability of the child. The Chamber of Deputies passed the measure but additional legislation is needed. The president signed into law a new Penal Code that changes the country's constitution, which had protected life from conception and prohibited all abortions. The new legislation to regulate abortion is expected to be introduced in parliament in early 2015. An appeal is expected to be filed before the Constitutional Court by Catholic and Evangelical churches which are leading the effort to keep the full ban on abortion.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski signed into law the Large Family Card bill, providing additional support to families with three or more children. The Large Family Card offers discounts on public transportation and other public and private entities that elect to participate and is the first legal honor for large families in Poland. An estimated 3.5 million parents and children will be eligible to use the card. President Komrowski stated his hopes that efforts for the card will continue and that it will "be a tool that we will continuously extend".

Catholic midwives were told by Scotland's Supreme Court that that they must supervise abortions, ruling against their right to be conscientious objectors. The ruling reversed an earlier decision by Edinburgh's Court of Session, which had ruled in favor of the midwives. The case, which was brought forward by two Roman Catholic midwives who were forced to oversee abortions at a hospital's labor and delivery department, sets a dangerous precedent for conscience rights. "I am dismayed and disappointed at this decision of the Supreme Court which fundamentally impacts on the right of every citizen in this country to follow their conscience in the workplace," said Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow.

New Delhi has cracked down on sex-selective abortions with hundreds of surprise inspections of ultrasound clinics this past year. 43 radiologists and clinics have had their registrations cancelled and five cases have been filed against violators, with more pending. The Family Welfare department has recommended changes be made to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act. Loopholes in the law-- such as permitting abortion for mental health or in case of failure of contraception-- are reportedly being misused to permit abortions.