President-Elect Donald Trump’s nominee for director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is the reason the government doesn’t fund entities that discriminate against pro-life healthcare providers.
In 2005, then-congressman Dr. David Weldon first proposed the Weldon Amendment, which prevents Health and Human Services funds from going to entities that discriminate against healthcare providers that do not pay for, provide, cover, or refer for abortions. The amendment has been readopted in every Health and Human Services appropriations act since 2005.
“The Weldon Amendment protects pro-life pregnancy centers, churches, and pro-life organizations by prohibiting discrimination from government officials because they do not refer for abortion or provide coverage for it in their health insurance plans,” Kevin Theriot, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told The Daily Signal. “Government officials should never target groups and individuals simply because of their pro-life beliefs.”
Weldon, a medical doctor and Army veteran, represented Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995–2009. Weldon ran in 2023 for a seat in the Florida House but lost the Republican primary to Debbie Mayfield.
The Weldon Amendment says that “None of the funds made available in this Act may be made available to a Federal agency or program, or to a State or local government, if such agency, program, or government subjects any institutional or individual health care entity to discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.”
The amendment defines the term “health care entity” to include “an individual physician
or other health care professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health
maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, or any other kind of health care facility,
organization, or plan.”
Trump’s nominated Weldon to lead the CDC on Friday night.
“As a father of two and a husband of 45 years, Dave understands American Family Values, and views Health as one of utmost importance,” Trump said in a statement. “Dave will prioritize Transparency, Competence, and High Standards at CDC. Dave will proudly restore the CDC to its true purpose, and will work to end the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and Make America Healthy Again!”
Weldon had a 100% pro-life voting record during his time has a Republican congressman.
After the House of Representatives passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2000, which Weldon voted for, he said abortion is not a religious issue, but a human issue.
“The distance between life and death for these babies is a mere three inches,” he said. “Since Roe v. Wade we have seen 35 million abortions in this nation. The value of human life has been debased in our civilization to the point where animals have protective rights were humans do not. We are knee-deep in a culture of death.”
The nomination of Weldon garnered praise from leaders of the pro-life movement, especially after some pro-lifers have raised concerns about pro-abortion nominees like Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who Trump tapped for director of Health and Human Services.
Founder and CEO of LifeNews Steven Ertelt said Trump “could not have made a more solid pro-life selection” than Weldon.
Jay Richards, director of The Heritage Foundation’s DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family, said “Rep. Weldon has long been a champion for the lives of the ‘least among us.’”
“David Weldon is a proven leader for life, and we look forward to working with him,” President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Marjorie Dannenfelser told The Daily Signal.
The post Trump’s CDC Director Nominee Sponsored Amendment Protecting Consciences of Pro-Life Doctors appeared first on The Daily Signal.
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Author: Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell
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