(CNSNews.com) – The House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that would set as permanent law the prohibition against taxpayer funding for abortion – except in cases or rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk -- which is usually attached to congressional appropriations through the Hyde Amendment each year.

HR 3, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” bans federal funding of abortion; disallows tax benefits for paying for an abortion; prohibits taxpayer funding of federal health care services and those in the District of Columbia that include abortion; and directs the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate any violation of the law through the implementation of Obamacare.

The law also protects from employment-discrimination those health care professionals who are morally opposed to promoting or performing abortions...

As the House of Representatives today debates legislation that would restore some conscience protections for health professionals on abortion, new polling data shows Americans support such laws.

The House is debating the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3) that bans federal funding for abortions across every governmental department and program. The legislation also protects health care professionals who don’t want to be involved in abortions.

According to the National Right to Life Committee: “The bill would codify the principles of the Hyde-Weldon Amendment, which has been appended to the original Hyde Amendment on every Health and Human Services appropriations bill since 2004.

The White House said today that President Barack Obama would add to his lengthy pro-abortion record by vetoing legislation the House will vote on tomorrow that bans taxpayer funding of abortions across the board.

Obama would veto HR 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, should Congress approve the legislation, with the White House saying the president opposes the bill because it would supposedly make it tougher for women to obtain abortion coverage from private insurance companies thereby expanding the current Hyde Amendment, which only limits tax-funded abortions under Medicaid, beyond its current reach.

“The Administration will strongly oppose legislation that unnecessarily restricts women’s reproductive freedoms and consumers’ private insurance options,” the White House said in a statement. “If the President is presented with H.R. 3, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill”...

The U.S. House is set to take action this week on a bill that would ban federal tax funds for abortion -- permanently.

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3) is sponsored by Congressman Chris Smith (R-New Jersey); it has more than 225 co-sponsors. Voting on the measure is expected to commence this week.

Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association tells OneNewsNow that H.R. 3 would replace the Hyde Amendment...

In a year when spending, deficits and debt have dominated the national debate, the recent push to strip Planned Parenthood of government funding is a reminder that the abortion issue retains its political potency.

The decades-old battle nearly derailed the latest spending deal on Capitol Hill, and House Republicans say they’ll continue to fight federal funding of the group after Congress returns from a two-week break to tackle the nation’s borrowing limit, 2012 spending levels and the soaring national debt.

“We believe very strongly that government dollars shouldn’t be used to fund abortion. I believe that is where the majority of the American people are and we will make sure that we continue in the spirit of the Hyde Amendment, governmentwide,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, told reporters this month, referring to the 1976 law that bans the use of federal funds for abortions...

Abortion providers are the targets of a trio of House bills that seek to ensure that taxpayer dollars will not find their way into such coffers.

“The time has come to deny any and all taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood,” Rep. Mike Pence, Indiana Republican, said at a Feb. 10 press conference about his Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act.

A second pro-life bill blocks federal funds from paying for abortions, even indirectly, under the new health care law, and a third measure codifies the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortions, into law...

(CNSNews.com) – A group of House Democrats -- asked directly if they support the use of federal (taxpayer) funds to pay for abortion -- said yes, they do.

At press conference on Wednesday, the Democrats also voiced their opposition to two Republican-sponsored bills that would prohibit federal funding of abortion.

CNSNews.com asked if any of the House members at the press conference supported the use of federal funds for abortion...

Pro-choice advocates have been "forced … into a corner" by legislative maneuvering and should fight to "regain momentum," a Guttmacher Institute official says in a rally-the-troops article.

"Antiabortion advocates have unveiled a radical agenda aimed at eliminating abortion coverage from any health insurance plan that in any way touches a public dollar, whether directly or even indirectly, under the tax code," said Susan A. Cohen, director of government affairs for the Guttmacher Institute.

This "goes far beyond the Hyde amendment," and advocates will need to fight harder to ensure that abortion is a covered health care service under the federal government's Medicaid program, in state health care "exchanges" and in private insurance policies, she said in an analysis in the fall 2010 issue of the Guttmacher Policy Review...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- House Republican leaders unveiled their new Pledge to America document today that contains a promise to push for a permanent ban on federal funding of abortions should voters replace the pro-abortion Democrats who currently control Congress with GOP lawmakers.

"We will permanently end taxpayer funding of abortion and codify the Hyde Amendment," the Pledge to America promises.

"We will establish a government-wide prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion and subsidies for insurance coverage that includes abortion, this includes enacting into law what is known as the Hyde Amendment. We will also enact into law conscience protections for health care providers, including doctors, nurses, and hospitals," the draft document says...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Thirty years ago today, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Harris v. McRae, resolving a four-year legal battle to ensure that Congress may prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding abortions. Now, pro-life advocates are concerned Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan would scrap the decision.

Harris v. McRae has prevented taxpayer-funded abortion under Medicaid for three decades, and established a legislative standard set by the Hyde Amendment. This narrow 5-4 decision has had a major impact on an issue upon which seven out of ten voters agree - public funds should not be used for abortion.

But with a debate over taxpayer funding of abortions taking center stage in the congressional battle over health care, abortion advocates showed their hand -- they want the Hyde amendment removed...