Capito, Colleagues Encourage President Trump to Reinstate Life-Affirming Policies

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) recently joined a letter-led by U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) and U.S. Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.)-encouraging President Donald Trump to reinstate and broaden the life-affirming pro-life policies in the early days of his new administration.

"Over the last four years, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and their administration systematically weaponized the government against the unborn, their mothers and pro-life Americans-doing their very best to erase every trace of life-affirming victories from your first administration," the lawmakers wrote. "We look forward to the reinstatement of Trump policies on life in the first days of your second term, getting the country back to a life-affirming, whole of government approach to supporting pregnant and parenting women and their children, born and unborn."

"We are grateful that the Trump administration can bring an end to the weaponization of the United States government against pro-life Americans and unborn children," the lawmakers continued. "We believe there is a better way forward for our Republic. We are hopeful for a future where women are given real choices and real support: a future that gives pregnant and parenting women the resources they need to embrace life without feeling the pressure to abort their child. We urge you to seek ways to provide this future to all Americans. The life, safety, freedom and health of the millions of Americans, born and unborn, depend on it."

BACKGROUND:

In total, the letter was signed by 36 Senators and 108 Representatives. It encourages President Trump to reinstate pro-life policies and also strongly condemned the Biden-Harris administration's unprecedented and illegal pro-abortion policies.

The lawmakers' letter is endorsed by: the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs, Americans United for Life, CatholicVote, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Family Research Council, March for Life Action, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Students for Life Action, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and the Vitae Foundation.

Full text of the letter can be found here or below.

Dear Mr. President:

Over the last four years, President Biden, Vice President Harris and their administration systematically weaponized the government against the unborn, their mothers and pro-life Americans-doing their very best to erase every trace of life-affirming victories from your first administration. We look forward to the reinstatement of Trump policies on life in the first days of your second term, getting the country back to a life-affirming whole of government approach to supporting pregnant and parenting women and their children, born and unborn. Pro-life Members of Congress stand ready to support your efforts to get the federal government out of the business of actively promoting abortion and back to victories established during your first four years in the Oval Office.

A clear majority of women (60%) who have had abortions said they would have carried their child to term instead of having an abortion if they had better material and emotional support. This presents an opportunity to examine federal programs across the government to maximize their impact for the benefit of pregnant and parenting women and their children, before and after birth. Areas of greatest need include housing, childcare, transportation, addiction recovery and life-affirming health care. The resources Biden and Harris poured into a federal infrastructure to promote abortion, including late-term abortion, across the government abandoned women in need. Those resources should be redirected to address underlying challenges that cause pressure to abort.

The Biden administration invested taxpayer dollars into promoting abortion across the government rather than investing in hopeful alternatives to support women and families. We are eager to see the damaging and often illegal outcomes from their efforts reversed.

We look forward to seeing all government agencies again adhere to the Hyde amendments. For nearly five decades there was bipartisan agreement that abortion should not be underwritten by taxpayer dollars. In an unprecedented move, the Biden-Harris administration ignored the law and funded abortion, including painful late-term abortion, most notably by performing abortions at the Veterans Administration and funding travel for abortion at the Department of Defense. The Administration has also turned Title X into a mandate for abortion referrals, in a clear violation of the Weldon amendment.

The first Trump administration rightly stopped funding for the abortion industry through the global and domestic Protect Life Rules, expanding on the work begun by President Reagan. The Trump policies prevented millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars from funding international and domestic Planned Parenthood and instead redirected those funds to entities that provide quality care to women and families and do not promote or perform abortion. These policies were later eliminated by the Biden-Harris administration, allowing funds to once again promote an aggressive abortion agenda at home and abroad. We are eager to celebrate the reinstatement of these policies.

The Biden administration also implemented policies that discriminate against pro-life Americans by rolling back Trump conscience protections, mandating employers to accommodate abortion through federal regulation and imprisoning peaceful pro-life protesters. The administration also refused to investigate potentially illegal late-term abortions in Washington D.C., including the death of a child who may have been born alive and left to die and another child who appears to have undergone a federally banned partial birth abortion. In contrast, we hope to see a return of Trump anti-discrimination conscience policies, the pardon of peaceful protesters, and the investigation of potential illegal late-term abortion.

We are grateful that the Trump Administration can bring an end to the weaponization of the United States government against pro-life Americans and unborn children. Biden and Harris chose to use America's halls of power to encourage abortion over life. Over 73 million voters rejected the dangerous and deceptive Harris abortion agenda. We believe there is a better way forward for our Republic. We are hopeful for a future where women are given real choices and real support: a future that gives pregnant and parenting women the resources they need to embrace life without feeling the pressure to abort their child. We urge you to seek ways to provide this future to all Americans. The life, safety, freedom and health of the millions of Americans, born and unborn, depend on it.

Sincerely,

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