“The bills released by the Senate Appropriations chairman [Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT] represent a radical departure from the will of the American people and the principle of justice for all,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chairman of the bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, and Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, chairman of Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

“By proposing to eliminate the Hyde and Weldon Amendments, among other longstanding, bipartisan pro-life provisions, the Senate is staking out an extreme position of forcing taxpayers to pay for the taking of innocent unborn human life and forcing health care providers to participate in this injustice,” they added.