Americans are a charitable bunch. But even they don't want to be stuck with the bill for your choices -- especially if that "choice" is ending an innocent human life. Unfortunately for taxpayers, they've been picking up the check for plenty of killing -- and not just because of Obamacare. The IRS has been squeezing Americans for abortion too. And Congressman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) says that if Uncle Sam won't draw the line -- Republicans will.
He calls it the "Abortion Is Not Health Care Act" (H.R. 2742), and Wednesday afternoon, he stopped by "Washington Watch" to explain just how important the bill is. "I think most people don't realize that you can claim an abortion as an out-of-pocket medical expense under the IRS code and get a deduction for that. And so... we're basically saying that we're going to prohibit that going forward." One way to think about it, he said, is that whenever you make a tax deduction, other taxpayers are actually subsidizing it. You may get a tax break, but other Americans still have to step in and pick up the slack. In this case, the IRS is including abortion in those deductions. "We're gonna stop that," Congressman Biggs insisted. "Look, it's not medical care. It's not health care. And so, we're putting an end to it.
Nothing about that should be controversial. Regardless of what you think about abortion, surely both parties should agree that Americans shouldn't be forced to bankroll it. Yet, Rep. Biggs pointed out, "People who are on the other side, who are pro-abortion, they want the world to think that that is an integral component to normal health care. It simply isn't. It's basically a snuffing out the life of one person." Should you call that health care, he asked? "And the answer, of course, is no. And if we get to the truth, as we start talking about these things -- the truth wins out in the end."
In poll after poll, most Americans agree: it's time to end the forced partnership between taxpayers and the abortion industry. Whether that's in "family planning" dollars, Obamacare, the IRS, or international programs. "This isn't a clever name," Biggs said of his bill title. "What it is, though, is a powerful name, in the sense that it says exactly what the truth is -- that abortion is not health care and should not be treated as health care."
