NCHLA Fact Sheets

Mexico City Policy, USCCB Fact Sheet (Last Updated on 10/26/2007)

No description available

SCHIP and Unborn Child Rule (Last Updated on 10/24/2007)

No description available

Mexico City Policy (Last Updated on 10/28/2002)

The Mexico City Policy specifies that federal funds for family planning are available only to nongovernmental organizations that agree not to perform or promote abortion as a method of family planning in other countries. This policy was initiated by President Reagan in 1984 and was in place until rescinded by President Clinton on Jan. 22, 1993. Efforts to restore the policy by Congressional action were successful only for FY 2000 when a compromise was enacted into law. On Jan. 22, 2001, President George W. Bush moved to reinstate the Mexico City Policy in full.

ACGME's Abortion Mandate (Last Updated on 5/1/1995)

The ACGME is supported by several prominent medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association. The ACGME sets standards for medical education and training to which teaching institutions, including hospitals, must adhere to maintain their accreditation. On February 14, 1995, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) voted to require every obstetrics and gynecology residency program to insure abortion training for their residents.

Health Care Reform (Last Updated on 3/1/1994)

Health care is an enduring concern of the Catholic Church in this country. Over the past few years, health care has attained prominence as a political issue. Early in 1993, President Clinton appointed First Lady Hillary Clinton to lead a task force on health care reform; based on this task force’s study, President Clinton submitted a reform bill to Congress on October 27, 1993. Known as the Health Security Act (HSA), this bill, HR 3600/S 1757, will dominate the congressional agenda of 1994. Among its many provisions is public funding of virtually every abortion in the United States.

The "Freedom of Choice" Act (Last Updated on 4/1/1993)

Promoters of the "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) call it a simple codification of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. However, the Act actually would go even further than Roe to legislate a national policy of abortion-on-demand. It would prohibit states (including Guam and the District of Columbia) from placing any significant restrictions on abortion at any stage of pregnancy. The sponsors' intent is to nullify the Court's decisions beginning with the July 3, 1989 ruling in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services and up through the July, 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey which gave states more power to restrict or at least regulate abortion.

Tax Funding of Abortion (Last Updated on 3/1/1993)

For many years federal policies have restricted direct public funding of abortion. The Hyde Amendment to the Labor/Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill has restricted federal funding of abortion in the Medicaid program since 1976. Most states also restrict funding of abortion.

Fetal Tissue Transplant Research (Last Updated on 2/1/1992)

Two types of scientific research on unborn babies have required government funding restrictions: 1) experimentation on live fetuses and 2) transplantation of fetal tissue obtained from dead aborted fetuses. The government stopped funding experimentation on live fetuses in 1975 but the controversy over funding fetal tissue transplant research continues.

Title X Regulations: Abortion Counseling and Referral (Last Updated on 7/1/1991)

In 1970, Congress passed Title X of the Public Health Service Act as a means for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offer family planning assistance to low-income women. The statute was designed to direct federal grants to programs which offer pregnancy prevention services. Title X was never intended to fund or facilitate abortions.

Parental Notification (Last Updated on 6/1/1991)

Many teens react to an unintended pregnancy with fear and confusion. In such a crisis, abortion can seem to be the quick and easy solution. But an abortion has tragic consequences for both the mother and her child. Before making such a serious and irreversible decision, an adolescent with an unintended pregnancy should be given the benefit of her family's support and guidance.