Congresswoman Kristi Noem’s Weekly Column: No Matter How Small

No Matter How Small
By Rep. Kristi Noem

Abortion is not health care. Abortion is not family planning. Abortion is the intentional ending of an unborn baby’s life, and I’m thrilled we finally have a president who recognizes that and has made protecting the unborn a priority.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration proposed ending Title X family planning funding for abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, and redirecting those resources into health centers that do not promote or perform abortions. I am very proud to stand with him as he brings back this Reagan-era rule.

The defunding of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers is an issue I’ve been working on for some time. Most recently, I reached out in a letter to President Trump urging him to make the Title X change and explaining that taxpayers should not be subsidizing the abortion industry. According to a recent Government Accountability Office report, Planned Parenthood receives roughly $60 million annually in family planning funding. This is wrong. Taxpayers should not have to bear the abortion industry’s financial burden – directly or indirectly.

Despite false claims, President Trump’s announcement will not take a penny from women’s health. Instead, it extends those same dollars to clinics and centers that offer full, life-affirming care to women from the moment of conception on. In many areas, these centers far outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics. In South Dakota, there are six federal qualified health centers operating in 45 service sites, but only one Planned Parenthood center. To say that we must fund Planned Parenthood or deny thousands of women care is a false narrative. We can support women’s health without supporting abortion providers.

President Trump’s announcement builds on much of the pro-life work we’ve done in recent years. In early 2017, for instance, he signed legislation I cosponsored that empowered states to withhold Title X funding from abortion providers. His most recent announcement allows us to go a step further.

I also worked to help introduce the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which prohibits taxpayer-funded abortions as well as taxpayer-funded subsidies for healthcare plans covering elective abortions. A 2016 Government Accountability Office study showed abortions were paid for with federal dollars through Obamacare exchanges, which we had previously been told would not be the case. According to the Susan B. Anthony List, “Under Obamacare, as many as 111,500 additional abortions per year could be heavily subsidized by taxpayers.” That is unacceptable, and the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would fix it. While the House has passed it, the Senate has not taken it up at this point.

Additionally, I helped lead the House in passing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. A strong and growing body of medical research provides evidence that unborn children can feel pain at 20 weeks. Still, our federal laws allow for babies to endure the pain of a life-ending abortion. I’ve also cosponsored the Heartbeat Protection Act, which protects a baby from abortion as soon as a heartbeat is detected, and the Life at Conception Act.

There is nothing more fundamental to our society than our kids, and I often think of my own while fighting for pro-life values. One of my favorite books to read them when they were little was Dr. Seuss’s “Horton Hears a Who.” It reads: “A person is a person no matter how small.” I don’t know that there’s a better way to sum up the reason behind pro-life policy.

All life is precious – no matter how small.