Archbishop vs. Biden

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (ChurchMilitant.com) - The U.S. bishops' pro-life chairman is blasting Joe Biden for permitting taxpayer-funded abortion.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas released a statement Friday demanding Congress reject phony Catholic Joe Biden's $6 trillion federal budget proposal because it removes the Hyde Amendment.

"For nearly half a century, the Hyde Amendment and related provisions have protected taxpayers from funding most abortions. These policies have broad support from Democrats and Republicans," he stated.

Naumann added it doesn't strictly protect taxpayers: "Taxpayer-funded abortion represents a failure to serve women in their maternity by funding despair and death instead of hope and life." Its provisions, he argued, have "protected millions of unborn babies and mothers in difficult circumstances from the tragedy of abortion."

Democrats Shift Over Hyde

Biden had supported the Hyde Amendment for decades, as did many other Democrats. They often used it as a compromise position with Republicans to negotiate health care policy. 

The legislative provision has been in effect since 1976 with minimal changes. It prohibits the use of federal taxpayer funds for any abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest and saving the life of the mother.

Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson praised Biden's move in her own statement, calling it a "historic step in the fight for reproductive freedom." She also dismissed the Hyde Amendment as "racist, sexist, deeply unjust and immensely unpopular."

The archbishop counters this narrative, noting Hyde's protections "have been enacted and signed into law by congresses and presidents of both political parties and have been broadly supported by the majority of low-income women, including women of color."

Naumann Consistent on Life

Naumann has been a vocal critic of Joe Biden since the unelected president took office in January. 

Last month, he praised San Francisco's Abp. Salvatore Cordileone for releasing a pastoral letter on denying Holy Communion to pro-abortion Catholic politicians like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi.

In April, he unloaded on Biden for permitting the taxpayer-subsidized sale and purchase of the corpses of the unborn.

"The bodies of children killed by abortion deserve the same respect as that of any other person," the archbishop proclaimed. "Our government has no right to treat innocent abortion victims as a commodity that can be scavenged for body parts to be used in research."

In 2017 he ripped phony Catholic senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.

"Tim Kaine, a U.S. senator and former vice presidential candidate, is another example of a politician who flaunted his Catholic background but spewed a lot of pro-choice rhetoric. When they do this, they're taking on a teaching role and misleading our people," he rebuked. In October 2016, he called Kaine's vice presidential debate performance "painful" to listen to.

Archbishop Naumann has an exceptionally long history of activity in the pro-life movement, stretching back to 1984 when he was still a parish priest and led a parish pro-life group. He connects most of his activism to his mother, who raised him alone after his father was tragically murdered in 1948. 

But even if the Kansas prelate's intentions are pure, the ultimate fate of the Hyde amendment lies in the hands of a Democrat-controlled House and Senate. And as Democrats are shifting away from the Hyde Amendment, taxpayer-funded abortion may soon become a reality.

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