Bill Fails Cloture Vote with Pro-Abortion Burris Amendment Allowing Abortions on Military Bases, Subsidized by Taxpayers

Contact: Kerry Brown, Susan B. Anthony List, 703-470-1926, kbrown@sba-list.org

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2010 /Standard Newswire/ -- Today, the Susan B. Anthony List condemned U.S. Senate leadership's attempts to advance the Department of Defense Authorization Bill allowing elective abortions to be performed on taxpayer-funded domestic and international military bases. The Burris Amendment calls for elective abortions to be performed on military bases both at home and abroad using facilities, equipment and doctors paid for by American taxpayers. SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said:

"Today, the Senate's pro-abortion leadership ignored the will of the American people and tried to advance a bill that would allow taxpayer-subsidized abortion on over 400 U.S. military bases, both at home and abroad. On November 2, voters sent Congress clear marching orders to end taxpayer funding of abortion. But the Defense Authorization Bill containing the Burris Amendment would turn over 400 domestic and international military bases into abortion clinics, using personnel and equipment subsidized by taxpayers. Medical facilities are meant to preserve life, not destroy it. Military physicians understand this better than anyone which is why they refused to participate when the practice was permitted during the Clinton Administration, forcing the Administration to recruit civilian abortionists.

"We continue to urge Congress to oppose this bill in its current form. It's time for Congress to listen to the pro-life American majority by passing laws that save lives, not destroy them."

To date, SBA List members have sent nearly 35,000 e-mails and have made over 4,000 calls urging the Senate to oppose the Department of Defense Authorization bill in its current form.

Background

In May, Sen. Roland Burris successfully added an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill in the Armed Services Committee, allowing elective abortion on domestic and international military bases. The amendment goes further than Clinton's 1993 Executive Order which only allowed abortions on international military bases. Current law prohibits the performance of abortion by Department of Defense medical personnel or in Department of Defense medical facilities except when the life of the mother is at risk or when pregnancy results from rape or incest. A similar amendment to allow abortions strictly in overseas military facilities was most recently offered in the House in 2006 and failed by a vote of 191-237.

The SBA List's "Stop Abortion Funding" campaign, aimed at ending all federal funding of abortion in the 112th Congress, includes mobilization of its ever-growing 280,000-member grassroots network and an online petition (www.StopAbortionFunding.com) encouraging Congress to pass laws defunding abortion. The petition collected more than 35,000 signatures within its first month and lobbies for the passage of the bi-partisan "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," sponsored by Reps. Chris Smith and Dan Lipinski and the "Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act," sponsored by Rep. Mike Pence.

The Susan B. Anthony List spent $11 million during the 2010 midterm election cycle. Overall, the SBA List was involved in 90 races including 62 wins and 28 losses. Successes included: defeating 15 of 20 so-called "pro-life" Democrats who voted for abortion funding in the health care reform bill; increasing the number of pro-life women in the House by 70 percent; filling the void of pro-life women in the U.S. Senate and increasing the number of pro-life women governors from one to four.

For further information, please contact Kerry Brown at (703) 470-1926 or kbrown@sba-list.org.