The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” which promises to keep religion separate from our legal system. This promise is being threatened by an act to overrule the current ruling on abortions in the United States.

Rep. Joseph Pitts of Pennsylvania has sponsored bill H.R.358, the “Protect Life Act.” Opencongress.org summarizes that the bill does not allow federal money to be used for elective abortions, even if paid for entirely through private funds. The act also states that a federal agency cannot force health care providers that accept Medicare or Medicaid to provide abortion services, even in cases when the mother’s life is endangered.

This act does not live up to its name. It can’t “protect life” very well if a pregnant mother dies giving birth to her child. If such a situation could be prevented, there are no grounds to deny life to her. This bill effectively prioritizes the unborn child’s life over the mother’s.

It’s logical to want federal money allocated to elective abortions – I understand. It prevents the government from paying unnecessarily. Not allowing private funds to pay for it, though, isn’t helping either. If a woman,or her private insurance company can and is willing to pay for an abortion, why should the government thwart this personal decision? If a woman has the money, she should be free to do whatever she wants with it.

A contributing writer for highlandernews.org states that this bill is very religiously charged. Big groups such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Christian Coalition and other conservative Christian organizations endorse the bill. Opencongress.org provides a money trail for the bill, showing which representatives and senators were paid, how much they were paid and what they voted. Two representatives were paid over $15,000 each, and in total over $95,000 was paid to various senators and representatives.

I do not have a problem with certain groups supporting bills; I understand those groups have the right to support and oppose whatever bill they choose. But when said groups are shelling out almost $100,000 to get a religiously charged bill passed, that seems lopsided, unfair, and unreasonable.

This bill has made it past the House of Representatives, and I would not wish it to go any further. As highlandernews.org put it, “… this is not about abortion, embryonic stem cell research, same sex marriage … this is about our constitution and the separation of church and state.”

We live in a country said to be secular, and this bill undermines that notion.