Got this note from Senator Bob Corker today.  You might want to check his website’s pro-life page here.

Dear Fletcher,

Knowing of your strong support for protecting the lives of the unborn, I wanted to share with you my decision to cosponsor the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, S.906, and update you on several other pro-life initiatives I recently supported in the Senate.

Since elected to the U.S. Senate, I have consistently voted to prevent taxpayer money from being used, both domestically and internationally, to fund abortions and organizations that perform abortions.  This policy provides critical protection for taxpayers who oppose abortions and do not want to support them financially.

It has been a settled policy since 1976 to prohibit federal funds from being used for abortion. Unfortunately, these restrictions must be renewed each year through a patchwork of various spending bills.  The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would make this long-standing policy permanent through a statutory prohibition and ensure the law is followed government-wide.

Additionally, I believe that the so-called “compromise” in the final version of the health care reform law was insufficient and I voted against final passage. Because of my concerns, I cosponsored S. 877, The Protect Life Act of 2011, which would ensure there is no taxpayer funding for abortion as a result of the new health care law.

You should also know that during consideration of the bill which funds the federal government for the remainder of the year, I voted for an amendment to eliminate federal funds for Planned Parenthood.  Organizations that perform abortions should not receive federal funding.  Unfortunately, the measure failed, but I was able to support a restoration of the ban on government funding of abortions in the District of Columbia. This ban, which had been in place since 1996, was overturned by President Obama in 2009.

Finally, I recently sent a letter with 27 other Senators to Dr. Donald Berwick, the Administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), urging swift reconsideration of its rejection of Indiana’s Medicaid State Plan, which restricts funding to health providers that perform abortions.  In our letter, we declared our support for Indiana’s proposal to prevent taxpayers from subsidizing the operational costs of abortions and for “the right of states to administer their Medicaid programs in a manner consistent with the values and needs of their citizens.”

Please know I stand with you as a strong advocate for the protection of life.  I believe life begins at conception and will consistently vote to protect the lives of the unborn.  For more information about what I’m doing in the Senate to protect the sanctity of life, please visit my website at: http://corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ProtectingTheUnborn.

Sincerely,
Bob Corker
United States Senator