No funding for universities that provide abortion pills, new Congressional bill says
Republican lawmakers introduced a new bill on Wednesday, responding to a new California law that requires public institutions of higher education to provide access to abortion services and pills.
The bill would block funding for universities that provide those types of services.
A U.S. senator introduced new legislation that would block funding for colleges and universities that provide abortions or supply abortion pills to students in health centers.
Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana), who also serves as chairman of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, introduced the Protecting Life on College Campus Act of 2021 on Wednesday. The bill is in response to a 2019 California law that requires public universities and colleges in the state to provide abortion pills to students by the year 2023.
Also on Wednesday, Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Representative Mary Miller (R-Illinois) introduced a House version of the bill.
In its current form, the bill would “prohibit the award of Federal funds to an institution of higher education that hosts or is affiliated with a student-based service site that provides abortion drugs or abortions to students of the institution or to employees of the institution or site, and for other purposes.”
These funds would include those made both directly and indirectly.
The bill also requires universities to participate in an annual report.
“To remain eligible for 10 awards of Federal funds, an institution of higher education that hosts or is affiliated with one or more school based service sites shall submit an annual report to the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services certifying that no such site provides abortion drugs or abortions to students of the institution or to employees of the institution or site.”
The legislation defines abortion drug as “any drug, substance or comination of drugs or substances” that is used “to intentionally kill the unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant; or to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other than to produce a live birth; or to remove a dead unborn child.”
During a press conference held in front of the US Capitol on Wednesday, Daines said “we can’t let our campus clinics become abortion clinics.”
“The craziness in California, and they’ve gone crazy out there in California, that can become the mainstream in America,” Daines continued.” “We’ve seen that several times in our nation’s history.”
The bill has received the support of other Republican lawmakers in both the House and the Senate, including Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri).
Campus Reform reached out to the offices of Daines, Miller, and Roy for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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