The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and members of the Catholic faith are in support of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, saying that taxpayer abortion funding infringes on the rights of people who oppose pregnancy termination.

“Taxpayer funding of abortion would force people of good conscience to participate in this grave evil against their will,” Timothy Broglio, archbishop of the Military Services USA, said in a recent USCCB release. “It would contradict our right to live in accord with the tenets of our faith. Our nation is better than that. I pray that we will protect every child no matter his or her age, and open our hearts to respond to mothers in need with love and support rather than the violence of abortion.”

The release also refuted President Joe Biden's claim that the USCCB did not oppose taxpayer-funded abortion. When a reporter said to the president recently, "Catholic bishops are demanding that abortions not be paid for using federal tax monies,” Biden’s reply was, ”No, they're not all doing it," the release said.

In January, Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, sent a letter in support of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R.7 and S.62) to House and Senate sponsors of the bill, the USCCB said.

“Protecting taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortion in violation of their conscience is a principle that has enjoyed historically broad support among Americans, regardless of their otherwise passionately divided views on the topic,” Burbidge said in his letter. “It has also been life-saving. Congress can better serve the common good by prioritizing policies that comprehensively assist women, children, and families in need in ways that will not only encourage childbirth but make it easier to welcome and raise a new child.”

For more than 45 years, the Hyde Amendment and comparable laws that have been supported by both parties have shielded taxpayers from paying for elective abortions, RespectLife.org said. But now influential members of Congress want to repeal such laws and allocate taxpayer money to pay for abortion costs.

Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment is estimated to have saved more than 2 million lives, Burbidge's letter said. 

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which has received support from the USCCB during prior congressional sessions, would make long-standing bans on federal funding of elective abortion permanent and government-wide rather than relying on various appropriations, which could jeopardize those funding protections or other programs for the underprivileged, the USCCB said.

“As we are taught by Jesus, human life is sacred,” Broglio said in the release. “God calls us to defend and nurture life from the moment a new human being is conceived. The Catholic Church has been clear and consistent in this teaching. The Catholic bishops of the United States are united in our commitment to life and will continue to work as one body in Christ to make abortion unthinkable.”

He also referenced a quote from Pope Francis.

“As the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has said, ‘It is not right to ‘do away with’ a human being, however small, in order to solve a problem,’” Broglio quoted. “‘It is like hiring a hitman.’”