Guided by my faith, I am committed to protecting the most vulnerable among us. I believe we all have a moral responsibility to defend the right to life, which begins at conception.
To defend the right to life, I helped introduce:
H.R. 8820, the Pharmacist Conscience Protection Act that would strengthen the rights of pharmacists who object to abortion on moral, religious, conscience, or medical judgment grounds.
I have also co-sponsored the following bills that will strengthen protections for the unborn:
H.R. 243, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act to prohibit the federal government from providing family planning grants to entities that perform abortions or provide funds to entities that perform abortions. To further emphasize my opposition to Title X funding used for this purpose as it also violates the rights of health care providers, I signed a letter addressed to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and will continue to press this important issue.
H.R. 188, the Women’s Public Health, and Safety Act to amend the Social Security Act to clarify that States have an ability to deny funding to abortion providers through state Medicaid programs.
H.R. 18, No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act to make permanent the long-standing Hyde Amendment to ensure no federal dollars are used to pay for abortion and health plans that include abortion.
H.R. 619, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to require an abortion provider to treat a baby who accidentally or otherwise survives an abortion, with the same level of life-sustaining care as a child born prematurely would receive. As a proud co-sponsor, I also signed a discharge petition, whereby if a majority of representatives (at least 218) sign, it would start a process to force the bill to the House floor for a vote.
H.R. 606, No Abortion Bonds Act to remove the tax-exempt status of any bond that goes to an abortion provider or to finance an abortion clinic.
H.R. 552, the Second Chance at Life Act ensures that a woman seeking a chemical abortion is informed that it may be possible to reverse the intended effects of the abortion if the woman changes her mind. I also remain deeply concerned about the potential health impacts on women who undergo chemical abortions so I joined many of my pro-life colleagues in writing to the Food and Drug Administration to express our concerns on their decision not to enforce the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy for mifepristone, the first part of a two-drug chemical abortion process.
H.R. 541, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act to prohibit Planned Parenthood or its affiliated entities from receiving federal dollars unless they certify that they will not perform nor support other entities that perform abortion.
H.R. 581, the Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act to require states to report accurate abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) every year and penalize states that withhold such information.
H.R. 1080, the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act which simply put would protect pain-capable unborn children.
Last June, I joined many of my colleagues to strongly oppose the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), or any federal agency for that matter, using our hard earned federal taxpayer money to pay for sex change surgeries. I also insisted that VA Secretary Denis McDonough provide assurances that existing policies that STOP the VA from paying for abortion or abortion-related services are not changed. I believe the VA’s mission must be served with focus on helping veterans and not be used as a pawn to advance President Biden’s agenda.
Protections in Fiscal Year Appropriations:
I joined many of my colleagues in communicating to Congressional leadership our strong opposition to repealing the Hyde Amendment, which protects funding made available through the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill, from being used to pay for abortions. Later, I again echoed my continued support for Hyde protections.
Along with my continued support for pro-life Hyde protections, I have also strongly urged the House Appropriations Committee to protect similar policies that have been enacted on a bipartisan basis in annual appropriations bills. These policies are as follows:
Smith (NJ) Amendment: protects taxpayer dollars from paying for abortions for federal employees.
Dornan Amendment: prevents federal and local funds from being used to pay for abortions in the District of Columbia.
Abortion Funding for Prisoners Amendment: protects taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortions for federal prisoners.
Helms Amendment: protects federal taxpayer dollars from funding abortions overseas.
Weldon Amendment: protects the decisions of physicians, nurses, clinics, hospitals, medical centers, and health insurance providers who choose not to participate in elective abortion based on their deeply held moral or religious convictions.
I will continue to urge Congressional appropriators to include language to provide protections for our most vulnerable population, the unborn, as the process continues.
TAKING ISSUE WITH BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PROPOSAL TO HIDE ABORTION COVERAGE IN HEALTH INSURANCE
I joined a number of my Congressional colleagues in signing a public comment letter in opposition to HHS’ proposed rule which would allow Affordable Care Act plans to embed an abortion surcharge within a health insurance plan’s monthly premium, making it difficult for policy holders to identify whether the plan they are purchasing includes coverage for elective abortion. The Trump Administration was right, Americans deserve to make informed decisions that do not compromise their conscience or religious views, period.
COMBATTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
It’s a tragic reality that millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide and placed into forced labor, the sex trade, or drug smuggling. As this issue plagues our country, border, and our state, confronting it remains a top priority to me.
I have co-sponsored the following legislation:
H.R. 233, the bipartisan Exposing the Financing of Human Trafficking Act to require the U.S. Department of State to include as a criterion in its Trafficking In Person (TIP) Report each country’s commitment to investigate, prevent, and prosecute financial criminal activities associated with human trafficking. By strengthening reporting requirements, we will be able to continue to improve our efforts to combat trafficking both domestic and abroad.
H.R. 332, the bipartisan Reducing the Demand for Human Trafficking Act to empower state and local law enforcement officials to reduce the demand-side of human trafficking by seeking out those who purchase or solicit trafficking services and holding them accountable for their crimes by creating a grant for state and local law enforcement that prioritize their own efforts to reduce demand. Under current law, buyers are not held to the same scrutiny of anti-trafficking statutes as suppliers. I believe this needs to be corrected as studies have shown demand-reduction to be a proven prevention strategy.
H.R.2219, the End Child Trafficking Now Act to place additional restrictions on adult aliens who try to enter the U.S. with an accompanying minor. It also makes it a crime for alien adults to knowingly use a child who is not directly related to them to petition for asylum in the U.S.
Be a voice for our community:
If you suspect someone you know is involved in human trafficking, you can call the Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-855-558-6484.
More on Defending Life
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (TN-01) reintroduced pro-life legislation that overturns Biden-era FDA policy, which allowed mifepristone, a potentially dangerous drug used for chemical abortions, to be prescribed without an in-person visit to a doctor, available via mail order.
WASHINGTON (WJHL) — Rep. Diana Harshbarger has introduced a bill to restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone.
Mifepristone is taken with another drug, misoprostol, to terminate pregnancies up to 10 weeks.
House Republicans introduced a bill on Tuesday that would undo recent rule changes from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowing for more widespread access to medication abortion, The Daily Signal first reported.
Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) and Kevin Hern (R-OK-01) introduced a bill Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives to invalidate the FDA’s recently-updated Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) of mifepristone, a chemical abortion drug.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Republican Study Committee Chairman Representative Kevin Hern (R-OK) introduced a bill to nullify a FDA risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) on Mifepristone, a chemical abortion drug.
A group of House Republicans have introduced a bill to place restrictions on chemical abortion pills. If enacted, access to abortion pills would be limited to in-person distribution.
Allen G. Breed/AP
A group of House GOP members has introduced legislation that would give pharmacists the power to refuse to provide abortion-inducing drugs, undermining recent guidance from the Biden administration warning that pharmacists who do not provide the medications could face legal and financial penalties.
NTD was on Capitol Hill when the Supreme Court’s official ruling came out. NTD spoke to Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) to get her reaction.