Congresswoman Unveils Pro-Family, Pro-Life Bill to ‘Advance a Culture of Life’

Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, Iowa, has introduced a comprehensive new bill that aims to support families and help women choose life for their preborn children.

Rep. Hinson introduced the Providing for Life Act in the House of Representatives, while Senator Marco Rubio, Florida, has introduced a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.

According to Rep. Hinson’s office, the bill advances a pro-family agenda on several fronts with the following actions.

Delivers tax breaks to working families by:

Expanding the refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) to up to $3,500 per child under the age of 18, and $4,500 per child under the age of six,
Expanding the CTC to provide support for unborn babies during pregnancy,
Making the Adoption Tax Credit fully refundable.

Supports new parents by:

Enhancing paid parental leave and gives parents options and flexibility,
Expanding eligibility for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) for postpartum women,
Enacting multi-tiered child support reform.

It incentivizes states to establish rules requiring the father to cover half of women’s pregnancy costs.

Empowers women and protects their babies by:

Ensuring pregnant women know their rights and protections on college campuses and have access to non-abortion resources and options,
Establishing a federal clearinghouse of resources available to pregnant mothers and supports the Maternal Mental Health Hotline through the creation of a proposed website, life.gov,
Ensuring Title X funding is made available to pregnancy resource centers.

Builds community support for mothers and new families by:

Funding local demonstration programs providing volunteer mentoring and peer support services for low-income, vulnerable mothers,
Expanding and codifying vital protections for faith-based organizations providing federally funded social services.

Rep. Hinson’s office notes that the bill has received support from pro-family, pro-life groups including Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America, the Family Research Council, Students for Life of America, Democrats for Life of America, the Catholic Medical Association, National Right to Life and the Abortion Survivor Network.

“The Providing for Life Act charts the policy course for a culture of life in America,” said Congresswoman Ashley Hinson in a statement announcing the bill.

She added:

By expanding the Child Tax Credit to include the unborn and provide additional relief to working families, empowering women to care for their babies and families regardless of socioeconomic status or zip code, and expanding access to community resources, we can protect the most vulnerable, make a meaningful difference for those in need, and strengthen all families.

There is an ongoing debate among conservatives over how far the government should go to support pro-life and pro-family causes.

Traditionally, conservatives have championed a smaller government, advocating for the federal government to maintain a limited role, confined to the boundaries found in the U.S. Constitution.

But there is a newer and growing segment of conservatism which, while not seeing constitutional boundaries as insignificant, seeks to prioritize government action to promote pro-life and pro-family policies.

These “new conservatives,” in adopting some of the ideals found in the New Deal and Great Society, don’t want to secede the government’s activity in culture-shaping programs to the Left, which is hostile to family values.

These conservatives are pro-life, pro-marriage and are worried about declining marriage and fertility rates. They also see difficult economic realities, like declining wages, high housing costs and high overall inflation as impediments to marriage and family formation, and therefore, see a role for government to step in to help.

They argue that since the federal government’s role in society has already expanded significantly past what the Founding Fathers ever envisioned, it is incumbent upon modern conservatives to shape the government to serve life, family, and society. Under this view, the government should, through tax incentives, paid family leave policies, housing support and more, help young people do what previous generations have always done: get married and start families.

There is precedent for this, particularly in Hungary, which has very generous, government funded pro-family policies.

No matter which model of conservatism wins out, one thing is clear. It should not be the case that the anti-life, anti-marriage, anti-children Left is able to claim that they support young mothers and families more than the Right.

The Providing for Life Act is an example of this “new conservative” model of government action. It remains to be seen how much support the bill will get in a divided Congress.

Related articles and resources:

Senator Introduces Bill to Prohibit Transgender Medical Intervention Procedures on Young Children

House Passes Defense Bill Containing Critical Pro-Life and Pro-Family Protections

Texas to Spend $100 Million to Support Alternatives to Abortion

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