On Tuesday, longtime pro-choice activist and Oregon governor, Kate Brown, officially signed into law a bill which forces taxpayers to pay for abortions of both citizens and undocumented immigrants. Constituents will be required to pay taxes that will directly provide abortions, even in the most extreme cases.
What is known as the Reproductive Health Equity Act is considered the most progressive bill regarding abortion, requiring Oregon insurance companies to cover all reproductive procedures, including late-term and sex-selective abortions.
Fox News reported: “Opponents argued that the bill will force people who morally object to abortions to assume some of the costs. They also predicted that lawsuits will quickly follow, arguing that the new law violates the Weldon Amendment, a 2004 congressional provision that prohibits Health and Human Services funds for states that discriminate against health care providers that refuse to cover abortions, the Washington Times further reported.”
Gayle Atteberry, executive director of Oregon Right to Life, spoke on the behalf of those who cannot speak, saying the passing of the bill is “disregarding thousands of future Oregonians whose lives have been further endangered by making their elimination 100 percent expense-free.”
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On the other hand, pro-choice advocates are praising the bill as it will provide free abortions and birth control as well as postpartum care for low-income women. With this, pro-abortion advocates have, once again, attempted to lump themselves in with advocates of healthcare for women in need.
Associating postpartum or prenatal care with abortion is one of the oldest tricks in the book. In fact, Planned Parenthood has been doing it for years, under largely false pretenses. And the same people who are lying about Planned Parenthood’s services are attempting to tear down the very organizations that provide women with the care they need at no cost.
The truth is that abortion is not healthcare and does not equate to female empowerment. True female empowerment is found in pregnancy resource centers, where women are given real resources, support, and education, powered by their community.
Taxpayers should not be forced to fund abortions. Instead, they should be compelled by love and compassion to fund organizations that are truly empowering women in their communities.
