Federal policy on abortion, 2017-2018


Trump Administration

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President Donald Trump
Vice President Mike Pence
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On January 19, 2018, while speaking to participants at the annual March for Life, a rally for activists who opposed abortion, President Donald Trump said that his administration “will always defend the very first right in the Declaration of Independence, and that is the right to life. … We are protecting the sanctity of life and the family as the foundation of our society.”[1]
Trump's major actions on abortion during his first two years in office were:
  • Signing a resolution that allowed states to withhold federal funding for health care providers that perform abortions into law;
  • Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which prohibited foreign aid and federal funding for international NGOs that performed abortions or offered related services; and
  • Issuing a proposal to modify the Title X family planning program that proposed making family planning clinics that refer patients for abortions and share finances or facilities with abortion providers ineligible to receive funding from the program. Additionally, healthcare providers would not be required to provide abortion counseling if it violated their moral or religious beliefs.
This page tracked major events and policy positions of the Trump administration and the 115th United States Congress on abortion from 2017 and 2018. Click on the timeline below to learn more about each headline.
Major events and policy announcements on abortion:

May 22, 2018: HHS proposes changes to the Title X family planning program


WhiteHouse.gov, "President Trump Delivers Remarks at the Susan B. Anthony List 11th Annual Campaign for Life Gala," May 23, 2018
On May 22, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a proposal to modify the Title X family planning program. The proposed regulations would make family planning clinics that refer patients for abortions and share finances or facilities with abortion providers ineligible to receive funding from the program. Additionally, healthcare providers would not be required to provide abortion counseling if it violated their moral or religious beliefs.[2]
The proposed regulations would prevent organizations like Planned Parenthood from receiving Title X funding. Planned Parenthood said that it would not seek Title X funding if the regulations were put into place, according to The Hill.[3]
While speaking at the Susan B. Anthony List 11th Annual Campaign for Life Gala, President Donald Trump discussed the proposed regulations, saying, “For decades, American taxpayers have been wrongfully forced to subsidize the abortion industry through Title 10 federal funding. So today, we have kept another promise. My administration has proposed a new rule to prohibit Title 10 funding from going to any clinic that performs abortions.”[4]
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue criticized the proposed rule, saying, “With this rule, this administration is trying to instruct doctors about what they can or cannot say to their patients. That should alarm anyone who ever wanted to know the facts about their own healthcare or feel the doctor-patient relationship is sacred and should be protected. The anti-choice movement knows that knowledge is power, which is why they love this rule and its attack on a woman’s right to understand her full range of options when it comes to an unintended pregnancy. Voters in this country will certainly remember this callous action in November and for a long time to come.”[3]
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan issued similar restrictions on the Title X program, but they never went into effect because of legal challenges. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually upheld the regulations. The only difference between Reagan’s guidance and the Trump administration’s was that healthcare providers would be allowed to discuss abortion with their patients. The existing program required healthcare providers to discuss pregnancy, adoption, and abortion as options after a woman received a positive pregnancy test.[3]

January 29, 2018: Senate rejects Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (S 2311)
Red x.svg Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected (51-46, 3/5 majority required) on January 29, 2018
Proposed amending the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus was 20 weeks or more. The bill proposed providing exceptions for an abortion: (1) that was necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.[5]
On January 29, 2018, the Senate rejected a motion to proceed to a vote on S 2311—the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act—by a vote of 51-46. Sixty votes were needed to end a filibuster. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), proposed making it a crime to perform an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A person who performed an abortion after 20 weeks would face a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill proposed exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. A woman who had an abortion after 20 weeks could not be prosecuted. The House passed the bill on October 3, 2017, by a vote of 237-189, along party lines.[6][7]
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined 42 Democrats and Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to vote against the motion. Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) voted with 48 Republicans to proceed to a vote on the bill. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) did not vote. According to The Hill, “Anti-abortion groups plan to use it [the vote] to hit vulnerable Democrats up for reelection in 2018.”[6][8]
After the vote, President Donald Trump said, "It is disappointing that despite support from a bipartisan majority of U.S. Senators, this bill was blocked from further consideration. The vote by the Senate rejects scientific fact and puts the United States out of the mainstream in the family of nations, in which only 7 out of 198 nations, including China and North Korea, allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. We must defend those who cannot defend themselves. I urge the Senate to reconsider its decision and pass legislation that will celebrate, cherish, and protect life."[8]
Commenting on the bill, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said, “It goes against the Constitution, against medical experts, and against the rights of women across the country.”[8]

January 19, 2018: Trump addresses March for Life

On January 19, 2018, President Donald Trump spoke via webcast to participants at the annual March for Life, a rally for activists who oppose abortion, in Washington, D.C. In a speech from the Rose Garden, Trump said that his administration “will always defend the very first right in the Declaration of Independence, and that is the right to life. … We are protecting the sanctity of life and the family as the foundation of our society.”[1]
Trump also criticized the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, saying, “As you all know, Roe vs. Wade has resulted in some of the most permissive abortion laws anywhere in the world. For example, in the United States, it’s one of only seven countries to allow elective late-term abortions, along with China, North Korea, and others. Right now, in a number of states, the laws allow a baby to be born [torn] from his or her mother’s womb in the ninth month. It is wrong; it has to change.”[1]

January 19, 2018: House passes Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

On January 19, 2018, the House passed HR 4712—the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act—by a vote of 241-183. Two hundred and thirty-five Republicans and six Democrats—Reps. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), and Tim Walz (D-Minn.)—voted for the bill. One hundred and eighty-three Democrats and no Republicans voted against the bill.[9] According to National Review, on January 24, 2018, Waltz "issued a statement explaining that he intended to vote against the bill but mistakenly voted for it due to confusion over which vote was scheduled. He filed to switch his vote to 'nay.'"[10]
The bill proposed requiring "any health care practitioner who is present when a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion to: (1) exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure that such child is immediately admitted to a hospital." In the event that the provider failed to comply with the requirements, he or she would face "a criminal fine, up to five years in prison, or both." Additionally, "An individual who commits an overt act that kills a child born alive is subject to criminal prosecution for murder." The bill proposed prohibiting criminal prosecution of the mother of a child born alive.[11]

January 18, 2018: HHS announces formation of Conscience and Religious Freedom Division

Public opinion on abortion
October 5, 2017: The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in August that candidates' positions on abortion would not be a deciding factor for the committee’s support in the 2018 House elections. Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards claimed in response, "It’s a shocking sort of misunderstanding of actually where the country is at, which is overwhelmingly supportive of abortion rights."
Is Richards correct?

Read Ballotpedia's fact check »
January 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the formation of the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR). It was established to protect healthcare workers who refused to take part in certain medical procedures, including abortions and transition procedures for transgender patients, that they opposed for moral or religious reasons.[12]
OCR Director Roger Severino said, “Laws protecting religious freedom and conscience rights are just empty words on paper if they aren’t enforced. No one should be forced to choose between helping sick people and living by one’s deepest moral or religious convictions, and the new division will help guarantee that victims of unlawful discrimination find justice. For too long, governments big and small have treated conscience claims with hostility instead of protection, but change is coming and it begins here and now.”[12]
Louise Melling, deputy legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that the Trump administration could allow health workers to refuse some services to members of the LGBTQ community. She said, "This administration has taken a very expansive view of religious liberty. It understands religious liberty to override antidiscrimination principles."[13]
According to NPR, “HHS makes clear that it won't allow gender discrimination that is banned by federal law. The question, according to Melling, is whether the administration includes gender identity and sexual orientation in the definition of gender.”[13]

October 3, 2017: House passes Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (HR 36)
Yes check.svg Bill Passed (237-189) on October 3, 2017
Proposed amending the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus was 20 weeks or more. The bill provided exceptions for an abortion: (1) that was necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.[14]
On October 3, 2017, the House passed HR 36—the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act—by a vote of 237-189. Two hundred and thirty-four Republicans and three Democrats—Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.), and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.)—voted for the bill. One hundred and eighty-seven Democrats and two Republicans—Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.)—voted against the bill. Four Democrats and three Republicans did not vote.
The bill proposed making it a crime to perform an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A person who performed an abortion after 20 weeks would face a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill proposed exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. A woman who had an abortion after 20 weeks would not be prosecuted.
On January 19, 2018, while speaking to March for Life participants, President Donald Trump said, "I strongly supported the House of Representative’s Pain-Capable bill, which would end painful, late-term abortions nationwide. And I call upon the Senate to pass this important law and send it to my desk for signing."[1]
On January 29, 2018, the Senate rejected a motion to proceed to a vote on S 2311—the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act—by a vote of 51-46. Sixty votes were needed to end a filibuster.[6]

May 15, 2017: Trump administration expands Mexico City Policy

On May 15, 2017, the Trump administration expanded the Mexico City Policy, which blocked foreign aid and federal funding for international NGOs that offered abortion services, information about the procedure, referrals to abortion providers, or otherwise promoted abortion as a method of family planning. Previous administrations that had supported the Mexico City Policy blocked funding through the State Departmentand the U.S. Administration for International Development.[15] The Trump administration's expansion blocked funds from the Department of Defense, in addition to the departments previously covered in the policy.[16]

May 4, 2017: House passes AHCA; includes cut in funding to healthcare centers that provide abortions

The First 100 Days
In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, abortion policy was changed through the following executive and legislative actions:

  • The Mexico City Policy was reinstated, blocking foreign aid and federal funding for international NGOs that offer abortion services and related information as a method of family planning.
    •
  • An Obama-era regulation prohibiting states from excluding healthcare providers from receiving Title X funding for family planning and related services because they also performed abortions was revoked.
See also: American Health Care Act of 2017
The American Health Care Act of 2017 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) on March 6, 2017. The bill was a reconciliation bill, meaning it impacted the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and it did not contain a provision to repeal the law in its entirety.[17]
The bill would have suspended for one year federal funding available to states to make payments to community health centers that provided family planning, reproductive health, and related medical services and also abortion services. This would have included the nonprofit organization Planned Parenthood. The House passed the bill by a vote of 217-213 on May 4, 2017, but it failed to earn enough support in the Senate.[17]

April 13, 2017: Trump signs resolution allowing states to withhold federal funding from abortion providers

On April 13, 2017, President Donald Trump signed HJ Res 43, which allowed states to withhold federal funding for health care providers that performed abortions, into law. Under an Obama-era regulation, states could not exclude a healthcare provider from receiving Title X funding for family planning and related services, like cervical cancer screenings, because it also provided abortion services.[18]
On February 16, 2017, by a vote of 230-188, the House passed HJ Res 43. On March 30, 2017, the Senate passed the measure. Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote to revoke the rule.[18][19][20][21][22]

January 24, 2017: House passes No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act

On January 24, 2017, by a vote of 238-183, the House passed HR 7—the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act. The bill proposed denying federal funding for abortions or health coverage that included abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother's life.[23]

January 23, 2017: Mexico City Policy reinstated

On January 23, 2018, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which blocked foreign aid and federal funding for international NGOs that offered abortion services, information about the procedure, referrals to abortion providers, or otherwise promoted abortion as a method of family planning. This policy, which was rescinded during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton (D) and Barack Obama (D), was first established by President Ronald Reagan (R) in 1984.[24]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by President Trump to March for Life Participants and Pro-Life Leaders," January 19, 2018
  2. Jump up↑ HHS.gov, "HHS Announces Proposed Update to Title X Family Planning Grant Program," May 22, 2018
  3. ↑ Jump up to:3.0 3.1 3.2 The Hill, "Trump admin moves to ban federally funded clinics from giving abortion referrals," May 22, 2018
  4. Jump up↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by President Trump at the Susan B. Anthony List 11th Annual Campaign for Life Gala," May 22, 2018
  5. Jump up↑ Senate.gov, "On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to the Consideration of S. 2311)," January 29, 2018
  6. ↑ Jump up to:6.0 6.1 6.2 Senate.gov, On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to the Consideration of S. 2311), January 29, 2018
  7. Jump up↑ Congress.gov, S.2311 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, January 29, 2018
  8. ↑ Jump up to:8.0 8.1 8.2 The Hill, "Dems block 20-week abortion ban," January 29, 2018
  9. Jump up↑ Clerk.House.gov, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 36," January 19, 2018
  10. Jump up↑ National Review, "House Democrats Oppose Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act," January 19, 2018
  11. Jump up↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.4712 - Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act," accessed January 24, 2018
  12. ↑ Jump up to:12.0 12.1 HHS.gov, "HHS Announces New Conscience and Religious Freedom Division," January 18, 2018
  13. ↑ Jump up to:13.0 13.1 NPR, "Trump Admin Will Protect Health Workers Who Refuse Services On Religious Grounds," January 18, 2018
  14. Jump up↑ Clerk.House.gov, "Final Vote Results For Roll Call 549," October 3, 2017
  15. Jump up↑ U.S. Department of State, "Background Briefing: Senior Administration Officials on Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance," May 15, 2017
  16. Jump up↑ Time, "The White House Is Cutting More Funds for Overseas Health Organizations Linked to Abortion," May 15, 2017
  17. ↑ Jump up to:17.0 17.1 House Energy and Commerce Committee, "Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Repeal and Replace of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," accessed March 7, 2017
  18. ↑ Jump up to:18.0 18.1 Congress.gov, "HJ Res 43," accessed October 4, 2017
  19. Jump up↑ BBC, "House votes to enable states to defund Planned Parenthood," February 17, 2017
  20. Jump up↑ The Hill, "Pence casts tiebreaking Senate procedural vote on funding for abortion providers," March 30, 2017
  21. Jump up↑ USA Today, "With Vice President Pence breaking tie, Senate moves against Planned Parenthood," March 30, 2017
  22. Jump up↑ Senate.gov, "HJ Res 43," March 30, 2017
  23. Jump up↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.7 - No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017," accessed January 27, 2017
  24. Jump up↑ The Hill, "Trump reinstates ban on US funds promoting abortion overseas," January 23, 2017
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