“This week, the House Committee on Appropriations will mark up the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) and State, Foreign Operations (SFOPs) appropriations bills, which currently exclude longstanding bipartisan policies that prevent taxpayer dollars from being spent on elective abortions,” the US Conference of Catholic Bishops explained in an action alert.

The policies targeted for repeal have prevented “taxpayer funds from being used to pay for abortions in the District of Columbia, through foreign assistance, and for federal employee health plans that cover abortions,” the bishops’ conference explained.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann (chairman of the bishops’ Committee of Pro-Life Activities) and Bishop David Malloy (chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace) issued a joint statement calling on the House of Representatives to retain the longstanding policies preventing taxpayer funding of abortion.