Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

December 2018 – Under the shadow of the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court Justice hearings that dominated media for several weeks, Congress passed the “minibus” and “continuing resolution” that funded Planned Parenthood and research using tissue from aborted babies.

The legislation funds four major federal departments: Defense, Labor, HHS, and Education. It was originally a stand-alone Defense appropriations bill, but other components were attached or “married” to the legislation. As a result, a pro-life senator was forced to vote against funding the Defense Department in order to defund PP and aborted-baby-parts research.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) pushed for an amendment prohibiting PP funding, but the Senate voted it down and passed the full bill (HR6157), thus continuing funds for PP. President Trump signed it into law on September 28.

On September 24, before the House voted on the bill, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department terminated its contract purchasing fetal tissue from Advanced Bioscience Resources and announced it would conduct an audit into all acquisitions involving human fetal tissue.

washingtontimes.com, 9/25/18; cnsnews.com, 9/28/18