AUL Says Wrangling Over Human Trafficking Bill Illustrates Why the Hyde Amendment Must be Made Permanent

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As news of a compromise in the U.S. Senate broke, which will allow a vital bill designed to assist victims of human trafficking to proceed, Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest observed that wrangling over limited abortion funding through the Hyde Amendment should come to an end.

Dr. Yoest made the following statement: "It is past time to make the Hyde Amendment permanent. The agreement made to advance the bill is important for taxpayers because the Hyde Amendment will be applied to funds to assist victims. This will ensure that women who are victims of sexual trafficking get the help and healthcare services they need to recover and rehabilitate their lives, and that taxpayers are not forced to pay for abortions, which harm women and further victimize women oppressed by sex traffickers.

"Still, the need for the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act has been illustrated by the delay in passing vital protections for women, men and children in a human trafficking bill. Making the Hyde Amendment permanent would end the practice of using a confusing patchwork of laws, many of which are temporary, to restrict taxpayer funding for abortion."

AUL's legal team has a long history of successfully defending the Hyde Amendment, protecting taxpayers from forced funding of abortion. In 1980, Americans United for Life won a historic victory for pro-life America when we successfully defended the Hyde Amendment in Harris v. McRae before the U.S. Supreme Court. AUL attorney Victor Rosenblum argued the case before the Court, resulting in a favorable decision and ending a four-year court battle. This important court decision upheld federal and state prohibitions on public funding of abortion except in the case of the life of the mother.

Click here to learn more about how the abortion lobby blocked aid to victims of sexual trafficking through their lobby efforts.

Click here to learn more about how the Hyde Amendment works, along with the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.

Americans United for Life (AUL) is the legal architect of the pro-life movement. We are accumulating victories, building momentum, and advancing a culture of life in America. Our vision is a nation in which everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law. The first national pro-life organization in America, AUL has been committed to defending human life since 1971.

SOURCE Americans United for Life

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