Cynthia Lummis on Abortion

IVF is OK, if not mandated and not too costly

"I take it as just Trump's way of saying he supports IVF," said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who emphasized that she also supports legal IVF, which is backed by 86% of Americans, according to a CBS News poll taken in March, when the Alabama court issued its ruling that threatened to end IVF.

"I don't know that we need to go so far as to mandate IVF coverage," Lummis said. "It just drives up the price of insurance. And so I don't know that I agree with him that it should be mandated."

Still, Lummis and all but two Senate Republicans voted to block a Democratic bill to protect access to IVF earlier this year, saying the proposal was too broad.

Abortion OK in cases of rape and incest against a minor

A: To prevent the death of the mother and in cases of rape and incest against a minor. There is no question rape and incest are heartbreaking tragedies and crimes--ones that bring deep emotional, physical and spiritual pain. Lawmakers have a responsibility to not only ensure we have tough, aggressive laws that help to stop these kinds of violent crimes against women, but also resources available to victims and their families to help them cope. I believe abortion is a sin against God, but in the event that a victim of rape or incest has an abortion the answer is to love them.

Abortion is a sin against God

• I believe abortion is a sin against God.
• As a legislator, I voted for Wyoming’s parental consent law.
• I oppose the repeal of the federal ban on partial birth abortion.
• I oppose federal funding for abortion.
• I oppose codifying the principles of Roe v. Wade into federal law.

No federal funding for embryonic stem cell research

Embryonic Stem Cell Research & Human Cloning
• I oppose federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
• I oppose human cloning.

Bar funding for abortion under federal Obamacare plans.

A bill to prohibit taxpayer funded abortions and to provide for conscience protections, and for other purposes:
• No funds authorized or appropriated by federal law, and none of the funds in any trust fund to which funds are authorized or appropriated by federal law, shall be expended for any abortion.
• None of the funds authorized or appropriated by federal law, and none of the funds in any trust fund to which funds are authorized or appropriated by federal law, shall be expended for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion.
• No credit shall be allowed under the internal revenue laws with respect to amounts paid or incurred for an abortion or with respect to amounts paid or incurred for a health benefits plan (including premium assistance) that includes coverage of abortion.
• No health care service furnished or operated by the Federal government may include abortion.
• Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting purchasing separate abortion coverage or health benefits coverage that includes abortion so long as such coverage is paid for entirely using non-federal funds.
• Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as restricting the ability of any nonfederal health benefits coverage provider from offering abortion coverage, so long as only non-federal funds are used and such coverage shall not be purchased using matching funds required for a federally subsidized program.
• The limitations shall not apply to an abortion if the pregnancy is the result of an act of forcible rape, or incest with a minor; or in the case the woman is in danger of death unless an abortion is performed.

Ban abortions for sex selection or race selection.

Congressional Summary: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011: Imposes criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly or knowingly attempts to:

1. perform an abortion that is sought based on the sex, gender, color or race of the child, or the race of a parent;
2. use the threat of force to intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion;
3. solicit or accept funds for the performance of such an abortion; or
4. transport a woman across a state line for the purpose of obtaining such an abortion.

Sponsor`s Letter (Rep. Trent Franks):PRENDA restricts sex-selection abortion and race-selection abortion, and the coercion of a woman to obtain either. The woman seeking an abortion is exempted from prosecution, while abortion providers are held to account.

Opponents` Opinion (Erin Gloria Ryan on jezebel.com):Rep. Franks, a white man, has claimed that his desire to disallow `race-selective abortions` is based on his concern that the black community is having so many abortions. He doesn`t say how, exactly, doctors are supposed to determine that a black woman seeking an abortion is doing so because her fetus would be black or whether she`s just doing it because she doesn`t want to be pregnant. Let`s be honest here: this isn`t really about saving girls and minorities; it`s about eventually making abortion illegal. A sex-selection ban would present the Supreme Court with a dilemma: it dares the pro-abortion justices to embrace an abortion right to kill girls for being girls.

Prohibit federal funding for abortion.

TITLE I: Prohibiting Federally-Funded Abortions and Providing for Conscience Protections
• Prohibits federal funds from being used for any health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion. (Currently, federal funds cannot be used for abortion services and plans receiving federal funds must keep federal funds segregated from any funds for abortion services.)
• Excludes from such prohibitions an abortion if: the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest; or the woman would be place in danger of death unless an abortion is performed.

TITLE II: Elimination of Certain Tax Benefits Relating to Abortion
• Disqualifies, for purposes of the tax deduction for medical expenses, any amounts paid for an abortion.
• Excludes from the definition of `qualified health plan` after 2013, for purposes of the refundable tax credit for premium assistance for such plans, any plan that includes coverage for abortion.

Prohibit federal funding to groups like Planned Parenthood.

Congressional Summary:Prohibits providing any federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion. Excludes an abortion where: (1) the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or an act of incest against a minor; or (2) a physician certifies that the woman suffered from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed.

Wikipedia Explanation:Title X of the Public Health Service Act, titled `Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs` is a US government program dedicated to providing family planning services for those in need. Title X provides access to contraceptive services, supplies and information. Priority for services is given to persons of low-income.

Sponsor Remarks by Rep. Mike Pence:It is morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to promote abortion. Last year, Planned Parenthood received more than $363 million in revenue from government grants; and performed an unprecedented 324,008 abortions. The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X. The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act will prevent any family planning funds under Title X from going to Planned Parenthood or other organizations that perform abortions. It will ensure that abortion providers are not being subsidized with federal tax dollars.

OnTheIssues Explanation: Federal money is never explicitly provided for abortions. But Planned Parenthood does provide abortions, paid for via private funds. At issue is the `fungibility` of money: Planned Parenthood can use federal funds to supplement their budget and hence free up other funds for abortion. This bill would end that practice.

No taxpayer funding of abortions via ObamaCare.

Heritage Action Summary: The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R.7) would establish a permanent, government-wide prohibition on federal taxpayer funding of abortion and health benefits plans that include coverage of abortion, as well as prevent federal tax dollars from being entangled in abortion coverage under ObamaCare.

ACLU recommendation to vote NO: (1/22/2015): We urge voting against H.R. 7. The legislation is broad and deeply troubling and the ACLU opposes it [because] H.R. 7 would make discriminatory restrictions that harm women`s health permanent law. The bill singles out and excludes abortion from a host of programs that fulfill the government`s obligation to provide health care to certain populations. Women who rely on the government for their health care do not have access to a health care service readily available to women of means and women with private insurance. The government should not discriminate in this way. It should not use its power of the purse to intrude on a woman`s decision whether to carry to term or to terminate her pregnancy and selectively withhold benefits because she seeks to exercise her right of reproductive choice in a manner the government disfavors.

Cato Institute recommendation to vote YES: (11/10/2009): President Obama`s approach to health care reform--forcing taxpayers to subsidize health insurance for tens of millions of Americans--cannot not change the status quo on abortion. Either those taxpayer dollars will fund abortions, or the restrictions necessary to prevent taxpayer funding will curtail access to private abortion coverage. There is no middle ground.

Thus both sides` fears are justified. Both sides of the abortion debate are learning why government should not subsidize health care.

Legislative outcome: Passed by the House 242-179-12; never came to a vote in the Senate.

Ban abortion after 20 weeks, except for maternal life.

Heritage Action Summary: This legislation will protect unborn children by preventing abortions five months after fertilization, at which time scientific evidence suggests the child can feel pain.

ACLU recommendation to vote NO: (Letter to House of Representatives, 6/18/2013): The ACLU urges you to vote against the misleadingly-captioned `Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,` which would ban abortion care starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy. H.R. 1797 [2013 version of H.R.36 in 2015] is part of a wave of ever-more extreme legislation attempting to restrict a woman`s right to make her own decision about whether or not to continue a pregnancy. We have seen state after state try to take these decisions away from women and their families; H.R. 1797 would do the same nationwide. We oppose H.R. 1797 because it interferes in a woman`s most personal, private medical decisions. H.R. 1797 bans abortions necessary to protect a woman`s health, no matter how severe the situation. H.R. 1797 would force a woman and her doctor to wait until her condition was terminal to finally act to protect her health, but by then it may be too late. This restriction is not only cruel, it is blatantly unconstitutional.

Cato Institute recommendation to vote YES: (2/2/2011): Pro-lifers herald a breakthrough law passed by the Nebraska legislature on Oct. 15, 2010: the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act prohibits abortion after 20 weeks gestation except when the mother has a condition which so `complicates her medical condition as to necessitate the abortion of her pregnancy to avert death or to avert serious risk of substantial or irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.` Versions of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act are [being] introduced in a number of state legislatures.

Legislative outcome: Passed by the House 242-184-6; never came to a vote in the Senate.

Strongly Anti-Planned Parenthood, according to AFA survey.

The AFA inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds or grants from federal, state, or local governments'? Self-description: (American Family Association helps produce iVoterGuides): `Grounded in God; rooted in research`; they `thoroughly investigate candidates`; when they cannot `evaluate with confidence, they receive an `Insufficient` rating` (& we exclude)

Strongly support Born Alive Survivors, according to AFA survey.

The AFA inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, `I support the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which requires health care providers to provide life-saving treatment for infants who survive an attempted abortion`? Self-description: (American Family Association helps produce iVoterGuides): `Grounded in God; rooted in research`; they `thoroughly investigate candidates`; when they cannot `evaluate with confidence, they receive an `Insufficient` rating` (& we exclude)

Anti-Planned Parenthood, according to CC survey.

The Christian Coalition inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Public Funding of Abortions (Such as Govt. Health Benefits and Planned Parenthood)?' Self-description by Christian Coalition of America: "These guides help give voters a clear understanding of where candidates stand on important pro-family issues" for all Senate and Presidential candidates.