FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: September 30, 2015
Contact: Leslie Palma
347-286-7277
NEW YORK – Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, the Catholic Church’s largest organization focused on ending abortion, today hailed the House of Representatives’ passage of a bill to give states flexibility in deciding whether to fund abortion groups through the Medicaid program.
“The Women’s Public Health and Safety Act offers what the abortion lobby always claims it supports – choice,” said Fr. Pavone. “If people don’t want their tax dollars paying for the tools that dissect aborted babies, they shouldn’t be forced to finance such inhumanity.”
The House voted 236-193 to pass legislation that would grant express permission to states to exclude groups and individuals involved with abortion from their Medicaid programs. Currently, the Obama administration and federal courts have said that states cannot make this decision.
“Millions of people, through their elected state representatives, have tried to exercise their right not to subsidize those who abort babies,” added Fr. Pavone. “This bill would give them that right. Obviously, defunding Planned Parenthood is a multi-pronged effort, not resting on any one vote or measure. It will take creativity, patience, and perseverance to reach this goal, and yesterday’s successful vote was one more step in the process.”
Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.